


A Family Secret

by majorcrazygeekgirl



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7514173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majorcrazygeekgirl/pseuds/majorcrazygeekgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if there was another descendent of the original Team Avatar. Meriona ran away from her family 5 years ago. Now she is working undercover in the Equalists to try and stop Amon. What happens when she meets the new Team Avatar. Eventual MakoxOC. Season 1.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1x01 Welcome to Republic City

Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Avatar franchise (Legend of Aang or Legend of Korra). I have no rights to the storylines or plots. I am only responsible for my OCs and any variations from the original storyline.

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Earth. Fire. Air. Water. When I was young, my father told me the story of how Avatar Aang and his friends heroically ended the Hundred Year War. Aang and Fire Lord Zuko transformed the Fire Nation colonies into the United Republic of Nations, a society where benders and nonbenders from all over the world could live and thrive together in peace and harmony. They named the capital of this great land, Republic City. Avatar Aang accomplished many remarkable things in his life. But sadly, his time in this world came to an end. And like the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of the Avatar began anew.

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Meriona was one for the streets, having lived and worked in them for the last 2 years, she had found her way around them well. After leaving her family 4 years ago, she had spent her time travelling, visiting the different nations and studying the different types of bending. In her travels she had heard rumours of bender hating groups growing in numbers, especially one in Republic City called the Equalists. She returned hoping to learn more about it, but learnt it was pretty exclusive, difficult to get into or get information on without being highly invested in the group. While trying to learn about it, attacks on benders grew more and more frequent. She realised that the only way to stop this group was from the inside. She used her growing reputation to spread the word of her newly discovered hatred of bending. If she couldn't look for them, they would look for her. Soon enough she was approached and offered an opportunity to join their ranks. She learnt the ways of their group, and how they delegated responsibilities. It soon became clear that the only way to cause real damage was to be higher in the ranks but it was difficult to get higher without years of dedication. She had to make herself stand out from the rest. So she revealed who she was to the generals and was soon invited to meet the head himself, Amon.

When she entered the room, she was met with a masked man working face down at his desk, seemingly uninterested in her.

"Is it true? Who you say you are?"

"Yes."

"Why tell us, or more importantly why join us?"

"You know of my family. You know that they bend but you also know that I do not."

"I do"

"I have experienced first-hand the inequality that bending has created in our society. Bending was the reason I was never good enough for my family, the reason it tore us apart. With bending gone, equality will return." It wasn't untrue. Her inability to bend did drive her away from her family, but she wasn't naïve enough to believe that it was 'bending's' fault. It was the pressure from her family that drove her away.

"Ok, so why tell us who you are?"

"I could say it's because I have valuable information or that I have the ability to get close to council members but realistically it's because I want to be more involved. I've heard rumours about what you can do and I want to be a part of it." She hoped this would be enough to entice Amon to try and use her as a pawn in his game, when in reality she would be using him.

Amon briefly looked to his commander who nodded.

"I think you will be a great asset to our cause."

****************************************************************

After that, she gained his attention so after working for Amon for another year, she earnt enough respect to be promoted to a commander. She did this through taking down several bending gangs single handed. Her fighting skills were mainly focused on chi blocking as she felt all the equipment just slowed her down. So far she had managed to avoid attacks on any innocent party as most of her missions involved stopping criminal benders. She knew that Amon was building to a big move, she just had to bide her time until she could stop it. That day, she had been sent to oversee a public protest in the park. Just a small one, one man just trying to spread the hate against benders. She leant quietly against a tree listening to his speech.

"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists! For too long, the bending elite of this city have forced nonbenders to live as lower class citizens. Join Amon, and together we will tear down the bending establishment"

Out of the crowd a bold brunette in water tribe garments spoke out.

"What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world."

"Oh yeah? Let me guess: you're a bender."

"Yeah, I am"

"Then I bet you'd just love to knock me off this platform with some waterbending, huh?"

"I'm seriously thinking about it."

This girl had unknowingly given this man exactly what he protester angrily glared at the girl, his spectators turning to her as well.

"This is what's wrong with this city! Benders like this girl only use their power to oppress us!"

The crowd began to turn against her before she and her polar bear were pressured to walk away.

After the interruption, the rally finished with no problems. Taking the rest of the day off she set off to take care of some benders she heard were terrorising a small shop. She wasn't against bending at all but she would not accept it being used to terrorize innocent civilians. Her plan was to take care of it quietly, but by the time she got there the streets were filled with police. Fighting her way to the front of the queue she spotted the same girl, proudly standing over the thugs. She couldn't help but be impressed, this gang had a reputation.

"Police! Freeze where you are!"

"I caught the bad guys for you, officers."

"Arrest them!"

Three cops ran forward and bended metal cables to secure the three thugs. Meanwhile Captain Saikhan walked up to the girl.

"You're under arrest, too."

The girl gasped before stepping back defensively.

"What do you mean I'm under arrest? Those are the bad guys over there! They were smashing up a shop!"

"From the looks of it, you smashed up a lot more than that." He spoke, whilst bending cables around her wrists.

"Wait, you - you can't arrest me! Let me explain!"

"You can explain yourself all you like, down at headquarters."

This did not seem to go down well. Flexing her biceps the girl was able to break the ties. The captain bended the cables again at her, who ducked and tumbled backward. Pushing herself to her feet her polar bear came to her defence as other cops rushed forward to apprehend her.

The girl continued to try and fight the cops off with waterbending. Losing interest, Meriona began to walk away when she saw an orange light and gasps. Turning back to see what firebender had joined the fight, Meriona was shocked to see it was the girl who was firebending. Re-intrigued with the fight, she watched as this girl bended water, fire and earth. She was the avatar. This was big news. The avatar hadn't been seen in Republic Ciy since Aang's passing. This was going to change everything.

The police however took no special consideration towards the avatar. Despite her best efforts, which Meriona found rather impressive, she was soon caught and arrested

Intrigued by the girl she followed to the police headquarters. She had been waiting outside for a couple of hours when she saw Tenzin arrive. She suspected it was because of the avatar. This hunch was confirmed when she later left with him. Meriona stood hidden beside a building, watching as they left heading towards Air Temple Island.

The news that the Avatar had returned would be quick gossip in Republic City. She might as well be the one to tell Amon. Put herself higher in his graces.

****************************************************************

The next day an interview was held. A large crowd had gathered in front of city hall. Meriona was listening to the interview on the radio from Amon's office.

"Hello? I'm Korra, your new Avatar."

"Will you be working with Chief Beifong and the police?"

"Does this mean you've moved to Republic City?"

"Were you trying to send a message to the Triads yesterday?"

"Will you be fighting crime or the Anti-bending Revolution, or both?"

Meriona glanced to Amon, interested to see his response to this. As usual he stood there calm and unnerved.

"Uh ... yes, I am definitely here to stay, but honestly I - I don't exactly have a plan yet. See, I'm still in training, but, look, all I know is Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the centre of peace and balance in the world, and I believe we can make his dream a reality. I look forward to serving you! I'm so happy to be here. Thank you, Republic City!

As the interview was ending, Meriona looked to the Lieutenant before turning once more to Amon as the Lieutenant spoke to him.

"Amon, how do you want to handle this?"

"So, the Avatar has arrived early."

He paused as he turned to face them.

"It looks like we'll have to accelerate our plans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First few chapters will be quite brief but the story will pick up properly when she meets the Krew (Team Korra).


	2. 1x02 A Leaf in the Wind

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Avatar series (Aang or Korra) or have any rights to the original storylines. I am only responsible for any variation in the original plot.

***********************************************************************

Earth. Fire. Air. Water. Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.

***********************************************************************

Avatar Korra had been in Republic City for just over a week and so far little had changed. Amon had decided to step up his plans due to her unexpected arrival, but so far this mainly involved going more public with their agenda. There were more chi-blocking groups and underground teams. Generally, Amon was trying to build an army of supporters as quickly as he could.

The sudden increase in their numbers meant that Meriona herself had been allocated more responsibilities. Originally, it meant overseeing all new members for any potential spies. It was scary to see how easily people were turned against benders, the support was building substantially. There had been no problems so Meriona had been reassigned. Due to the need of more trainers, most of Amon's spies had been recalled, so Amon had made her his primary spy. Her general job was to keep an eye on bending related activities and the Avatar.

***********************************************************************

Meriona was making her way over to the pro bending arena as per Amon's instructions. She understood that at some point he was planning to make an example of the sport but for now she was to just keep updated on the current events.

She had watched the Fire Ferrets win their match the previous day but had returned to watch them play again that day. Amon had taken a new interest in this team after they had been seen with Korra.

From her contacts at the temple, Meriona learnt that Korra had still been unable to airbend, news that Amon would be pleased to hear. Meriona had hoped to have heard of some development in her airbending, she was going to need Korra's help to bring down Amon, the further she got in her avatar training, the better it would be.

Meriona looked down to the court to see the teams walk out, as an announcement came over the tannoy.

"Looks like the Fire Ferrets have ferreted out a last minute replacement waterbender. Let's see if she's another diamond in the rough like the brothers from the school of hard knocks!"

The referee held up his hand and blew his whistle. A bell rung, signalling the start of the match. The new waterbender immediately conjured a powerful water blast with her foot which she used to knock a member of the opposition over the side of the ring. Meriona looked on confused. Did this girl not know the rules? Another member of the Fire Ferrets facepalmed as the new girl ran around, waving her hands in the air to celebrate.

"Woohoo! Man overboard!"

The referee blew his whistle, pointing at the waterbender.

"Fire Ferret waterbender, penalty! Move back one zone!"

"What? Why?"

Her teammate stormed forward, obviously upset at her actions.

"You're only allowed to knock players off the back of the ring! Not over the sides!"

"Oh. Whoops."

The girl moved back a zone, as the opposition player re-joined his team mates.

"And we're back in action after that hiccup, but I'm not so sure this replacement player knows what she's doing."

The announcer wasn't wrong. Meriona got up from standing against the wall and leant over to closer watch the match. This new girl was a skilful waterbender. The move she had performed was not a simple one, it was a complicated waterbending fighting technique. The only other time she had seen it was when she had travelled to the Northern Water Tribe.

As the match continued, Meriona studied the girl's technique. Although committing more fouls, the girl's technique was familiar to her. By the time the round ended, Meriona recognised the bender as Korra. This information was certainly going to interest Amon.

"The Platypus Bears take round one! The Platypus Bears know a green player when they see one, and they are focusing the brunt of their bending on this poor girl!"

Meriona was surprised Tenzin would allow Korra to watch a pro-bending match, let alone play in one. She knew Tenzin to be a strict and focused man, who never considered pro-bending a worthwhile sport. She highly doubted he knew Korra was here. It wasn't safe for Korra here. If Amon knew she was participating in the sport, the arena would become a more prioritized target.

Meriona attempted to plan how to get Korra out without revealing her identity to the crowd when she saw Korra attempt to protect herself from an attack by earthbending two disks. So much for not revealing herself.

"Wait a minute! Did that waterbender just earthbend?" The commentator was as shocked as the referee.

"Foul! I ... think."

"Did I see that right? Hold on, folks, we're just waiting for the referee's official call, but ... I-I think this replacement player could be ... no, there's no way! You've gotta be kidding me! She's the Avatar, folks! Playing in a pro-bending match! Can you believe that?"

Meriona sighed deeply. So much for keeping this from Amon. The news would be all over the city, everyone would be talking about it. It was only a matter of time before Tenzin arrived.

Credit to the referee, he managed to keep his head quite well.

"The Avatar will be permitted to continue so long as she solely bends water!"

The match continued, despite all the drama.

"This girl may be the Avatar, but she's no pro-bender and the Platypus Bears are intent on exploiting that weakness. They're giving her their best, and her best ain't good enough to stop it. Aaaaand she's in the drink!"

Meriona winced as Korra violently hit the water. She was really bad at this sport. She watched as Korra surfaced. While taking a breather, Korra looked up to see Tenzin standing there with an angry expression. Meriona slowly backed into the shadows, not wanting to be recognized by him.

While the crowd was focused on the match, Meriona's attention was on the pair. She could see them arguing, Korra doing well to hold her ground against the fierce airbender. Meriona could not hear what they were arguing about but it ended with Korra walking away from Tenzin, leaving him fuming. Meriona had not often seen someone hold their ground against Tenzin, Pema mainly being the most successful.

The third round began badly for the Fire Ferrets, the opposition attacking them fiercely but Meriona's focus was on Tenzin, who had turned to leave the arena. Despite her hopes, Meriona's doubts were confirmed. Tenzin was never one for change, always preferring to stay in the past, favouring the old ways to anything new. Meriona sighed. He would never change. But then Tenzin turned suddenly, causing Meriona to jump quickly behind a pillar.

"Looks like the Avatar's pro-bending debut is going to be cut short! She's been pushed back to zone three, and the water is calling her name! It's only a matter of time before ..."

Looking back to see what Tenzin was watching, Meriona observed as Korra took on an airbender stance and began to dodge the three opposing players' attacks. Meriona recognised the method she was using. It was an old technique taught to pass the fan obstacles in airbending training, changing direction at a moment's notice.

"Hold the phone! Stop the presses! She's still in the game, folks! And she's moving like an entirely different player! All of a sudden, the Platypus Bears' strikes are only striking air!"

The opposing firebender looked annoyed by this sudden change. He and his team mates attacked again but Korra managed to nimbly dodge their attacks. Tenzin had begun to walk forward closer to the arena, a surprised look on his face.

"How about that?" he said dumbfounded.

The opposition all looked tired, and their attacks lacked their previous power. A water blast travelled towards Mako and Bolin who readied themselves to get hit. However, before the blast makes contact, the water lost momentum and fell to the ground.

"The Platypus Bears have no juice left, but Mako and Bolin are still fresh and juicy!"

Mako and Bolin wasted no time to counter. Mako promptly attacked them, directing quick fire blasts at the opposing earthbender, soon aided by his brother's earthbending. Soon they managed to knock all the opposition into the water.

"Knockout!"

An uncharacteristic excited cry made Meriona jump. Turning around, she saw Tenzin pumping his fists, jumping. Meriona couldn't contain her smile watching Tenzin express such joy. It was an uncommon sight and it made her quite happy to see it. Maybe he could change. She watched as he quickly recovered his dignity having seen the others spectators eying him strangely, straightening his outfit and walking away with a solemn expression.

"The Fire Ferrets come from waaay behind and steal the win! The rookies, Avatar in tow, have nabbed a place in the championship tournament! I cannot believe it!"

Meriona watched the team celebrate their victory. As Tenzin watched on proudly, Meriona turned and walked away. She needn't be there any longer and she had information to give Amon.

***********************************************************************

It was soon city-wide news that the Avatar had permanently joined the Fire Ferrets for the upcoming championship. Although expecting a negative response from Amon, he seemed quite pleased.

"I couldn't have planned it any better. The Avatar is nothing more than a symbol, she is no threat. When the time comes, we will take out both strong symbols of bending. Together, pro-bending and the Avatar will fall."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last short chapter before Meriona properly meets the gang :)


	3. 1x03 Revelation

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Avatar series (Aang or Korra) or have any rights to the original storylines. I am only responsible for any variation in the original plot.

The Revelation

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Meriona walked the streets of Republic City planning her next move. Her mind wandered back to her previous meeting with Amon.

**********************************************************************

"We cannot waste this opportunity. With Korra involved in the probending tournament, it makes the championship final the perfect opportunity to send a message."

The Lieutenant and Meriona stood in Amon's office as he updated his plans.

"Lieutenant, I want you to oversee the updated plans for the Revelation. It happens tomorrow, we cannot afford to waste any more time. Meriona, I need you to find me my examples."

Meriona already knew what the Revelation was. Amon had the ability to take away a person's bending. It was scary, a talent unseen before Avatar Aang and not seen since. She knew she would have to find people for Amon to perform it on. If she didn't, someone else would and at least if it was her, she could choose people more deserving to lose their bending. Her thought reminded her of a rumor she had heard.

"I have heard word of the Triple Threat Triad having a council meeting in the lower town tonight. I think a group of criminal thugs would stand to be a suitable example."

Amon seemed pleased with this idea. "Very good. See to it tonight. Take a squad and bring them to the hall. Tomorrow night all will bear witness to the strength of the Equalists."

The Lieutenant and Meriona bowed slightly before going to leave.

"Meriona, one more thing." Turning in the doorway, she faced Amon as he approached her. "I want you to get closer to the Avatar, become her friend. I want to know everything she gets up to, and you will have easier access to it this way."

Meriona frowned. "Okay, but with your permission I would like to not use my identity to get close to her. If word should reach Tenzin, he may reveal who I am to her, and I do not want to face the consequences of that, not whilst we're in the midst of preparations."

It was true. She wasn't ready for her family to find out she had returned to Republic City, not while she was working with the Equalists. She needed more time.

"Permission granted. If Tenzin knew of your return, he may start to question your friendship with Korra, and that may complicate you mission. Now go."

**********************************************************************

Her squad had been chosen for their mission tonight, now all she had to do was wait.

Soon the time came for the mission. She dressed herself in the masks and uniform of the Equalists to hide her identity and made her way to the warehouse with her team.

Arriving on the roof of the warehouse, Meriona had a good view of the group within, through the rooftop windows. A major security risk for the Triple Threats, a brilliant advantage for her team. Nodding to her team, she threw a smoke grenade into the building before signalling her team to follow her. Sliding down ropes, her team landed quietly as the gangsters coughed and attempted to find their way out of the fog. In the confusion, she and her team quickly took them all out with chi blocking, causing their bodies to freeze in temporary paralysis.

As the smoke cleared, Meriona looked around to see their catch. In the corner she spotted the probending player Bolin. She cursed internally. She had hoped to only capture the high bosses of the gang, not some unknowing boy. She had seen him around before. He was a sweet boy but got caught in the middle of the gangs when his parents died. He didn't deserve to have his bending taken away. Looking around, she realised there was nothing she could do about it now, she would have to find a way to help him later, without an audience.

"Load them in the van."

Meriona climbed onto her motorcycle when Korra and Mako came bursting out the back of the headquarters, who spotted Bolin in the back of the van.

"Bolin!"

Meriona quickly signalled for her team to move out. As Mako and Korra ran after the vehicles, Meriona pulled out smoke grenades and tossed them at the incoming duo. The grenades exploded with a bright flash and produce thick, heavy, green smoke, effectively halting their pursuit for some seconds.

It was only delayed by a few seconds as Korra called her polar bear. As the duo pursued them, Mako began sending fire blasts at the Meriona, who swerved to avoid it. Korra too, created cracks in the earth as an attempt to cause them to crash. Meriona managed to avoid the first big crack, but was swiftly catapulted into the air by an earth ramp created by Korra. Redistributing her balance, Meriona managed to land safely and continued to follow the rest of the escaping party.

Meriona had to find a way to lose them, they were only endangering themselves. As they left the alley and entered an open square, Meriona signalled to her parallel cyclist. Together, they fell back, the other swerving to the left and whilst Meriona brought her motor to a spinning halt while throwing a bola at the polar bear. As the polar bear's feet were tied together, the group came crashing to the ground, sending Mako and Korra flying.

As Korra and Mako stood, Meriona and her partner elegantly twisted in the air to land at opposite sides of the duo. Meriona wasted no time and headed straight for Korra, who, in retaliation, sent a large fire blast at her. Meriona elegantly dodged the blast, jumping over it and twisting several times in the air. Landing balanced, she continues her run for Korra to begin hand-to-hand combat. Meriona's hit aiming for Korra's head, was averted quickly by Korra who then retaliated with another fire blast, but Meriona swiftly ducked under it. Korra attempted many fired hits and kicks, all of which Meriona managed to avoid. In frustration Korra aimed a higher fire kick at her head. Spotting an opportunity, Meriona managed to curl her leg around Korra's and pulls it down, creating an unguarded opening to Korra's right side. Meriona delivered four swift punches to the Avatar's side and arm and backed away. Meriona watched as Korra grabbed her numb right arm, eyes big in wonder.

Korra's face changed to one of determination. She madly charges at Meriona with her left hand ablaze. Flipping over Korra's poorly-aimed attacks, Meriona spotted another opening. Meriona jumped up and kicked the staggering Avatar in the chest. Both she and Mako landed simultaneously as Meriona's partner defeated Mako.

Meriona tried to plan her next move. She couldn't allow these two to be captured also. Looking around she saw the polar bear close to freeing itself from its bonds. Perfect. As Meriona and her partner approached the duo preparing to throw their bolas, they were interrupted by a loud growl. Turning back to the polar bear, they saw it jump toward them, teeth bare and growling. Meriona briefly eyed her partner before jumping away, throwing more smoke grenades to cover their exit. Meriona returned to her motorcycle and rode out of the smoke.

Smiling to herself, Meriona sped to catch up with the escaping van. The prevention of Korra and Mako's capture meant they could help her rescue Bolin.

**********************************************************************

The next day, Meriona wandered the streets once more in search of Korra and Mako. Her plan was hopefully going to involve Bolin's rescue whilst convincing Amon she was just following his orders.

She had informed Amon that her plan to get close to Korra was to 'pretend' she was against the Equalists. It was quite ironic really, considering it was true.

She headed to the river where she knew there would be an Equalist rally. With any luck she would find Korra there too. As she approached the river she spotted Korra lifting a protester into the air by the hem of his shirt.

"You better believe it concerns us. Spill it."

"No one knows what the Revelation is! And I have no idea what happened to your friend. But if he's a bender, then my bet is he's getting what's coming to him"

"Where's it happening?"

At the sound of a whistle, Meriona saw a policeman, running toward the pair.

"Hey! What's going on over there?"

Tossing the protester away Korra and Mako ran off. Meriona watched their retreating figures before picking up the fallen leaflets. She smiled to herself. She couldn't tell them where the event was happening that night but she could help them figure it out. Following their tracks, Meriona found them under a bridge.

"Why didn't the Equalists put a location on these leaflets?"

Meriona saw it as a perfect opportunity to introduce herself.

"Probably because they don't want just anyone waltzing in to their big 'Revelation'. Sorry to interrupt but I heard you two confronting that guy by the river and I just wanted to say good job. Someone needs to tell them what we really think of Amon's message."

Korra looked up and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, not many people are thinking that at the moment. I'm Korra, the Avatar." She said holding out her hand.

Meriona laughed before returning the handshake. "Yeah I figured. Rona, non-bender."

Mako got up, casting her a suspicious look. "If you're a non-bender, why are you so against Amon?"

Meriona smirked. "Just because I don't bend, doesn't mean people who do are my enemy. It's ludicrous. Just look at the original Team Avatar. Sokka and Suki were both non-benders and they weren't exactly 'oppressed' because of it. Equalists are people just looking for someone to blame."

Mako stood back smiling. "Okay, I'll admit when I'm wrong. Sorry, I'm Mako."

"The pro-bender right? You guys are the Fire Ferrets. Where's Bolin?"

Mako and Korra's smiles faded as she expected them too. Meriona had to bring up the subject lightly, couldn't be too obvious."

"He's actually been captured by the Equalists. Korra and I have been trying to find him. We think wherever they've taken him is to where this 'Revelation' is happening but we have no clue where that is."

Feigning shock, she continued to subtely give them clues as to the location on the event.

"It doesn't say on the leaflet?"

"No it doesn't. That's what we're confused about. How do people know where to go?"

"I bet the information is hidden on here somehow." Meriona grabbed the leaflets from Mako and pretended to search for a hidden message. "Look at the backs. There's four different images."

Mako leant down to inspect the puzzle as Korra looked above them.

"So, it's a puzzle?"

Mako turned excitedly to Korra. "Yeah, of a map!"

He excitedly got on his feet and walked over to the map next to Korra, four leaflets in hand. Meriona pretended to look on surprised as he compared them to the city map, moving the image over different areas. When he found the right location, there was a red spot indicating the meeting place.

"Bingo. That must be where it's going down."

Meriona straightened up smiling. They knew where to go now.

"Wow well done. What are you going to do now though? You can't exactly call the police."

Korra looked over to Meriona gratefully.

"We can take it from here. Thanks for your help Rona."

Meriona shrugged. "I didn't do anything. To be honest I thought the whole 'secret message' thing was a major long shot."

Mako approached her, smiling gratefully. "No seriously, we wouldn't know where to look without you. Thank you."

Meriona smiled at his sincerity holding out her hand. "Just get me a front seat for your next match when you rescue Bolin."

Mako grinned, grabbing her hand. "Done."

Meriona watched as the two ran away to recue Bolin. She realised she too should be heading there. She needed to tell Amon she had 'infiltrated' the group. As she ran back to headquarters, Meriona sighed. Keeping two double lives was going to be tricky.

**********************************************************************

Dressed once more in full Equalist gear, Meriona stood by Amon's side throughout the presentation, with the hostages tied up behind them.

"I know you have been wondering, "What is the Revelation?" You are about to get your answer. Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world, and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar has failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make Equality a reality. The power to take a person's bending away. Permanently."

As the crowd gasped in awe, Meriona frowned under her mask. She happened to have a very strong spiritual connection, and she knew of the relationship between the spirits and the Avatar. She had learnt that it was the spirits who introduced bending. Why would they give Amon a gift that would take it away? She knew he was lying about how he got his gift, but it didn't change the fact that he could still do it.

"Now, for a demonstration. Please welcome, Lightning Bolt Zolt."

An Equalist guard lead the tied up man onto the stage to the sound of the audience boos.

"Leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City."

Other guards brought forward the rest of the hostages, forcing them to their knees, Bolin being the last of them. Meriona spotted movement in the audience as someone tried to come forward. Recognising her as Korra, Meriona sighed in relief as she realised that everyone else's attention was directed on the stage.

"Zolt has amassed a fortune by extorting and abusing nonbenders. But his reign of terror is about to come to an end. Now, in the interest of fairness…"

The Lieutenant removed the rope binding Lightning Bolt Zolt.

"…I will give Zolt the chance to fight to keep his bending."

Despite Zolt's best efforts, he failed to best Amon. Amon forced him on his knees, before placing his thumb on his forehead. The audience watched in awe as Zolt's lightening turned from blue to orange to nothing. As he attempted to bend again, he saw that it failed.

"Wha ... what did you do to me?"

"Your firebending is gone. Forever. The era of bending is over. A new era of Equality has begun!"

The crowd began to cheer madly. Meriona frowned deeply under her mask. How could the people of the city become this? How could it go this far? To cheer at something this horrible? Meriona felt a huge sense of guilt as she watched the horrified expression on Zolt's face. She had to keep reminding herself of the horrible things he had done. But Bolin hadn't done anything wrong, and if Mako and Korra didn't hurry, he would be losing his bending too.

Looking back into the crowd to see if they had a plan, Meriona saw Korra emerge at the side of the crowd, carefully moving through one of the side exits. Realising she planned to use the machines to create a smoke screen, Meriona made sure no guards followed her way.

Looking back into the crowd, Meriona saw Mako make his way to the front of the crowd as Amon took away another's bending. Watching as another bender was grabbed and pulled to his feet, Meriona noted that Bolin would be next.

Soon it was Bolin's turn, and Korra had yet to create the smokescreen. Bolin was pulled on his feet and thrown forward, stumbling towards Amon. Bolin unknowingly bought time as he attempted to reason with Amon.

"Uh, hello, Amon, sir. I think there's been a big misunderstanding." It was pointless as Amon edged closer to Bolin. Come on Korra!

Suddenly there was an explosion to the left of the stage and steam started to pour in to the room, engulfing everything in its path. Following Amon, Meriona simply backed away, disappearing into the shadows. Taking a final glance of the room she watched as Mako reached Bolin and rescued him from a guard. Smiling in secret success, Meriona followed Amon and the Lieutenant into the corridor.

"You two, find out what happened."

She and the Lieutenant nodded before taking off in the direction of Mako and Bolin. If they did catch up, Meriona had confidence she could throw the fight enough to let the brothers escape.

They caught up with the brothers as they were climbing down a ladder. The Lieutenant, twirled his kali sticks before slamming them into the ladder, sending an electricity charge through it. Mako and Bolin screamed in pain before falling to the ground. Meriona and the Lieutenant jumped down from the balcony, his kali stick charging. When the Lieutenant landed, he immediately released the charge, forcing the brothers to jump away. Mako raised his fist to go on the offensive, but before he could launch a fire jet at the crouched Lieutenant, Meriona landed and deflected his arm. Before she could allow Mako to knock her into the Lieutenant, he attacked Mako with his kali sticks, quickly electroshocking him. With Mako floored, the Lieutenant turned to Bolin.

Bolin flipped over, using his own momentum to hurl a slap of earth at them. They both managed to avoid the attack and Meriona charged towards Bolin who conjured up a large earth wall to protect himself. Meriona performed a round off, before back flipping and somersaulting over Bolin's wall. She landed behind a shocked Bolin, who quickly turned to face her, but after delivering several quick hits, he fell to the ground unconscious. She had deliberately used temporary hits so he would not be unconscious for long.

Suddenly, Mako emerged from beside the wall, using the adjacent building to push himself off in the Lieutenant's direction, sending a fire slice in his direction. Meriona was impressed, normally when someone was electroshocked they would be unconscious for much longer. Mako was strong.

The Lieutenant managed to dodge, and Mako kicked out another fire slice, knocking over Bolin's wall with his attack. The Lieutenant charged Mako again and after a quick exchange of some blows striking air from both parties, the Lieutenant manages to force Mako up against the wall. The Lieutenant charged and twirled both his weapon sticks and jabbed Mako's chest, electroshocking him into unconsciousness.

"You benders need to understand, there's no place in the world for you anymore."

A pillar of rock suddenly shot up beside the Lieutenant, pushing him against the wall and knocking his two kali sticks out of his hands. Meriona turned to see Korra standing in an earthbending pose.

"I wouldn't count us out just yet"

Pleased at her timing, Meriona smiled under her mask and went to attack to keep her cover. She aimed several poor blows at Korra but was knocked off her feet when the earth was taken out beneath her by Bolin. She landed painfully on her arm, wincing as it took the brunt of the fall. Taking her time to get up, she and the Lieutenant watched as the trio escaped on the polar bear's back. As she and the Lieutenant struggled to stand, a crowd of Equalists joined them.

"The Avatar. That's her!"

Several Equalists immediately ran after them.

"Let her go."

Meriona turned to see Amon standing on a balcony, his hands folded casually behind his back.

"She's the perfect messenger to tell the city of my power."

Amon turned and went back into the building as the Lieutenant took command.

"Prepare to clear out. No doubt the police will be here shortly."

Meriona stood holding her arm, gazing in the direction of the escapees. At least she helped save someone tonight.

The word was out. Amon could take bending away. This news was going to shock Republic City, creating a major divide between benders and non-benders and tomorrow she was going to have to deal with the fallout.

**********************************************************************

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed my first long chapter. I tried my best to make the fighting sequences as clear as I could :)


	4. 1x04 The Voice in the Night

Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Korra/Aang or any of its characters and storylines. I am only responsible for my OCs,

Sorry for such a delay. Had a lot of work.

The Voice in the Night

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It had already been 2 days since the Revelation and the city had already gone into a panic, just as Amon had wanted. Benders were suspicious of all non-benders prompting more affronted people to join the Equalists. The councilmen and city leaders were in a state of paranoia, as nobody knew what Amon's next step would be, including Meriona. Amon had kept most people out of his plan so far, he just kept her on Avatar duty.

She had made progress with the group, Mako keeping his promise to invite her when they next played. Despite knowing it wouldn't end well, Meriona found herself getting along well with the group, forming strong friendships. She knew that when they eventually found out the truth, their friendship would be over, but for the time being she relished every moment. Growing up, her family tended to keep her isolated, said it was safer for her. In reality it jut meant she grew up lonely. She sighed. Although not getting along with them most of the time, Meriona did miss her family. She had no hatred for them but she wasn't ready to see them yet, for them to see the person she had become.

She was broken from her thoughts when she saw her contact running towards her, away from City Hall.

"What do you have for me?"

"Councilman Tarrlok plans to initiate a task force to take down Equalist groups. It has been approved by the council although Tenzin did not approve. It is rumoured that Tarrlok wishes Korra to join the task force too."

Nodding to herself, Meriona tossed the man a gold coin before walking back to the base. She imagined Amon would be quite pleased with this initiative, it would give him more ammo to use against the benders of the city.

*******************************************************************

As suspected, Amon was more than pleased and prepared for a hidden transmission, pouncing on the opportunity. She watched from the wings as he sent out his message.

"Good evening, my fellow Equalists. This is your leader, Amon. As you have heard, the Republic Council has voted to make me public enemy number one, proving once again that the bending oppressors of this city will stop at nothing to quash our revolution. But we cannot be stopped. Our numbers grow stronger by the day. You no longer have to live in fear. The time has come for benders to experience fear."

Meriona had no doubt this message would act to increase the tension throughout the city. She had to hand it to Amon, he knew how to stir a crowd.

Deciding she needed a break, Meriona made her way over to the Probending arena to hang out with the brothers. When she arrived, only Bolin was around, attempting to train Pabu.

"What are you doing?" Meriona asked, laughing as Bolin jumped out of his skin.

"Don't do that! I am very easily scared."

"Haha, sorry Bolin. Where are the others? Don't you have training?"

"Not today no, hall was needed for something else. Korra's having a dinner thing and Mako should be back…"

"Hey I'm back." Mako called up.

"…right about now."

Mako walked in the room hair and clothes askew but with a dopey grin on his face. Bolin and Meriona shared a look, confused.

"Uh, bro? You ok?"

"Huh, what? Yeah sorry bro. You're not gunna believe what just happened to me."

"You look like you've been hit by a train." Meriona teased.

Mako laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Not far off Rona. I got hit by a moped."

Bolin's overdramatic tendencies kicked in as he ran to Mako, searching over him for any bump or bruise.

"Oh my god. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? I have a bit of first aid training. Quick, are you feeling nauseous of lightheaded?"

Mako batted off Bolin's incessant hands. "Bolin, I'm fine. Girl who hit me has actually invited me out for dinner."

"Ooooooo, a giiirrrrll." Meriona teased jumping off of the sofa. "Was it love at first sight? Do you looooooove her?"

"Shut up Rona" Mako retorted, embarrassed. Bolin and Meriona simply laughed at his uncomfortableness. It was fun to just hang out like this, tease and have fun, almost like she had no care in the world. She and Bolin continued to tease him for the remainder of the evening, before Meriona had to leave.

*******************************************************************

Meriona was swiftly brought back to reality when she returned to the base to train the Equalist's new recruits. As she beat up several of the new members, Meriona started to try and plan her next move. There was little she could do considering she didn't know Amon's plan, but for now it seemed Amon was content in waiting in the shadows, so she would have to wait too.

*******************************************************************

Meriona hadn't seen Korra in a couple of days. She went back to the gym quite a few times to see the boys but Korra was never there. Apparently Korra had declined Tarrlok's offer to join the task force and had thrown herself into her training. Meriona found this surprising. In the time she had known Korra, she wouldn't have thought she would have turned down an opportunity to fight Amon. Meriona suspected something else was going on.

Walking through town, Meriona spotted a familiar red scarf.

"Mako!" She shouted running up to him. He turned and smiled as he spotted her running towards him.

"Hey Rona. Where you headed?"

"Nowhere really, just wondering around. What about you?"

"Got dinner with Asami." He said blushing.

"Moped girl?" She laughed. "No wonder you look so nervous. Relax, you'll be fine. Being hit by a motorised vehicle is how most whirlwind romance start."

Seeing his uncomfortable face, she nudged his arm. "Hey, I'm just kidding. What's really got you so freaked?"

"What am I doing Rona? We're going to Kwong's Cuisine. She's from a completely different world."

Meriona smiled. "You always say you don't want people judging you for where you come from, maybe she's the same."

Mako's face lit up as he turned to her. "You're right. Look I'll see you around, I don't wanna be late."

"See ya. I'm gunna go see Bolin." She waved him off and headed off to the arena.

*******************************************************************

Bored at the arena, she and Bolin decided to visit Korra on the island. Meriona was initially worried about bumping into Tenzin but apparently the boys had been a few times and had never met him.

Walking up towards the temple, they spotted Korra sitting on the steps.

"Hello, fellow teammate!"

"Hey Bolin, Rona."

"Missed you at practice this week."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Meriona stared a Korra who was sadly stroking Naga's back. Something was wrong.

"Nah, that's all right. We're probably out of the tournament anyways unless some money miraculously drops out of the sky by tomorrow. Anyways, the reason I came by was to give you this."

Bolin held out the cupcake and a rose he had brought for Korra. Meriona smiled at his cute attempt to flirt with Korra. It was no secret that he had a massive crush on Korra. Well, no secret to anyone but Korra.

"Ta-da!"

"Wow, thanks. What's this for?"

Bolin panicked, not knowing how to respond. Meriona rolled her eyes smiling.

"Uh, oh I can't remember now. Oh yeah, now I remember. You saved me from Amon!"

"Oh, that? It was no big deal."

"Only you would say it was no big deal." Meriona replied.

"No big deal, are you serious? I was totally freaking out when he was coming at me with his creepy mask all, "I will take away your bending forever."

Bolin started to act like a zombie trying to comically replicate Amon while Korra looked at him with a worried expression and Meriona studied her reaction. She realised that Amon must be the reason Korra had been acting so off. "I mean that is scary stuff. I still can't sleep well."

"Mhmm." Korra replied, passively. Meriona could understand how stressed Korra was. The thought of someone taking away bending was terrifying, and when you're the one everyone is looking to, to save them, it's very pressurising.

Their conversation was interrupted by a council page walking towards them, carrying a large basket of items surrounded by flowers.

"Delivery for Avatar Korra. Tarrlok sends his compliments and urges you to reconsider his offer."

Korra did not seem impressed. "Tell him I haven't changed my mind."

As the page walked off, Meriona struggled not to laugh at Bolin's jealous expression.

"Who's this Tarrlok guy? Is he bothering you? Huh, 'cause I could have a word with him."

Korra and Meriona laughed. "Heh, no it's not like that. He's just some old guy who works with Tenzin on the council."

Bolin physically relaxed. "Oh, good. Good, that sounds better. I like that better." Realising his lack of subtlety, Bolin went bright red. "Anyway, um. I was just here to um… Yeah give you the flowers…so now I'll just um. Yeah. See you guys around." Korra and Meriona laughed as Bolin retreated back to the arena.

"He's a funny one." Korra laughed.

"Yeah definitely." Meriona said, sitting down next to Korra. "Although, I am glad to see you laugh. You've been a bit off recently. What's up?"

Korra sighed. "It's this whole Amon thing."

"Yeah. It's pretty scary."

"The whole city expects me to stop him! He has the power to take away bending and I can't even airbend yet! How am I supposed to stop him?" Korra ranted.

Meriona smiled and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Not alone. We're all here for you. And just because Tarrlok is pressuring you to get involved doesn't mean you have to. You have the right to fight Amon however you like. If it means mastering airbending first, then do that."

"But everyone is expecting me to go after Amon and beat him!" Korra argued.

"Up til last month, you weren't even in Republic City. They survived before, they'll survive now. And just because you're not on the task force, doesn't mean they'll fail without you."

Meriona sighed and looked out over the city. "This city has faced a lot of threats. Yes, Amon's abilities are strong, but so are yours. I have no doubt you are going to be an amazing Avatar."

Korra seemed to relax more. "Thanks Rona."

"No problem." She replied. "Anyway, I better get going to. See you later."

Meriona waved Korra off and began to walk back to the city. Korra had given her an idea. Amon was all for using the task force against the benders, and would no doubt use the fact Korra turned down a place on the team to turn the people against the Avatar. But if they had enough success, maybe the task force could cause trouble for Amon. They just needed a little hint about where to look.

*******************************************************************

Meriona walked away from the City Hall, after having dropped off her intel into Tarllok's office. She didn't want to trust one of her contacts with this, she couldn't risk any word getting back to Amon about her disloyalty. She had used one of the adjacent buildings to jump on top of City Hall and walked stealthily through the corridors, to sneak into his office. Tarrlok was throwing a gala in recognition of Korra, so the top floors were fairly empty, most people being on the bottom floor. It made it extremely easy for her to sneak in and out of the building unseen.

As she was walking away she spotted Mako and Bolin heading for City Hall, dressed up very smartly.

"Whoa. Don't you gentlemen look fine?" She teased. "You going with Korra to the gala thing?"

"No, we're going with Hiroshi Sato!" Bolin responded excitedly. "The girl that hit Mako was his daughter!"

"Oooo, so the date went well then?" Meriona teased, turning to face Mako.

"Shut up Rona." Mako laughed. "Asami's actually a great girl. We had a great time."

"And it's better than that! Her father has agreed to sponsor us for the pro bending tournament! How great is that!" Bolin added gleefully.

"Oh my god! That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you guys!" Meriona replied, grabbing the brothers in a hug. Bolin responded to the hug enthusiastically, while Mako just felt awkward. Meriona laughed. For brothers, they were so different.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to your gala." She stepped back and curtsied. "Mr Mako, Mr Bolin."

Laughing, she turned as they walked to City Hall. She was glad they were going to have fun that night. She on the other hand had work to do.

*******************************************************************

The next day there was big news. Korra had joined the task force. Meriona had her suspicions that Tarrlok had planned to use the gala as a way of forcing Korra into it, and now she knew she was right. Tarrlok had always been a bit of a snake, manipulating everything to suit him best. Still, she had hopes for the task force. With a bit of her help, she was hoping they could take down a few of the Equalists' headquarters, put the pressure on Amon.

She saw to it herself that she was present at the factory she had tipped off. With her there, she could make sure everything went to plan, she didn't like risking things. She was nervous though. This time, the Equalists were going to have the lower hand. She had to make sure she wasn't captured along with others.

In the basement of the bookstore, Meriona began training the Equalists members. Most of them viewed her as the harshest instructor, thinking she was pushing them hard so they would learn more. In reality, Meriona taught them enough to keep Amon satisfied, but mainly just focused on making it clear the groups weren't progressing much, despite her 'effort'. If Amon's army wasn't trained, he couldn't use them. At least, not yet anyway.

After fighting each member one on one, Meriona left them all tired and bruised. She hoped this would make it easy enough for the task force to take them down, while she got away. She paired them off into groups, when she spotted a glint of light coming from the corner of the ceiling. Having her suspicions that it was the task force, she excused herself to get a drink and hid behind the wall. Her suspicions were confirmed when water suddenly broke through the wall, flooded the room and froze, with the people inside yelping in surprise. Earthbenders then proceeded to completely break through the wall, causing several chi blockers and trainees to leap back, unprepared. The earthbenders easily dispatched the unprepared trainees in the room while Meriona watched as Tarrlok and Korra entered. She watched as one of the other generals threw gas grenades and ran through the door near her to make their escape. Korra easily froze the two grenades in ice before heading in their direction.

"I'm going after those two."

Seeing that as her sign to go, Meriona leapt into action. As the other generals were being captured by Tarrlok and Korra, Meriona made her to the top of the building, changing as she went. Once on the roof she leapt to the closest building, and then to the next, until she was far away from the scene of the crime. It was her favourite get away technique. Everyone expects you to escape out the bottom, so nobody guards to roofs.

As suspected, Amon was not too pleased with the success of the task force and the Lieutenant wasn't pleased with her either.

"And how was it, that you miraculously got away while all others were captured?"

"Because all the others were inexperienced, untrained nuisances. I've been training them for weeks and none progressed nearly far enough! I say good riddance. It hardly makes a difference for us, and if it gives the benders a false sense of security then I see it as a win win."

The Lieutenant's anger was interrupted by Amon. "She is right."

"What?" The Lieutenant questioned. Meriona was also surprised to hear Amon take her side so quickly.

"We don't need anyone slowing us down. If they can't learn, they can't help us. And then what's the point of them?" Amon responded darkly.

Meriona realised her own argument came across just as dark, but hers was an act. This man's feelings were completely real. It was scary.

Throughout their arguing, Korra had been interviewed on the radio. Most of it was unimportant, but their attention was caught when Korra called on Amon.

"Amon, I challenge you to a duel!" She yelled.

Meriona was taken aback. Korra. What are you doing?

"No task force, no chi blockers, just the two of us tonight at midnight on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Let's cut to the chase and settle this thing, if you're man enough to face me."

The transmission ended as reporters began to ask questions. The Lieutenant went over and turned off the radio. Meriona turned to Amon.

"What do you want to do?"

"If the Avatar wants to face me, I will oblige her. But I will make sure it is a meeting she will never forget."

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Amon had filled Meriona on his plan for that evening and she knew he wasn't going to take Korra's bending, not yet. That was being saved for the climax of his rebellion. As he gave her time to prepare, Meriona made her way to see Korra, hoping to try and convince her out of it. There was no physical danger in her going that night, but Meriona was scared of the effect it may have on Korra. She was scared enough of Amon anyway, Meriona couldn't understand why she was doing this.

As she arrived at the island, she saw Korra training in preparation for her battle. Meriona stormed towards her, not holding anything back.

"Are you crazy?" She accused. "After all we talked about yesterday, you went ahead and challenged Amon? Alone?! What happened to doing things together? What about him being too powerful? What were you thinking?"

"I can't just do nothing. You don't understand what it's like to have an entire city depending on you." Korra retaliated.

"You're not doing nothing but doing something stupid isn't going to change anything. How do you know Amon won't go alone? What if he comes with a whole army of chi blockers?"

"Then I'll beat them too."

Meriona sighed, seeing arguing wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Facing him like this won't make the fear go away." She said much softer.

Korra looked up affronted. "I'm not afraid of him!"

"It's ok to be. It's ok to admit you're scared. Everyone is."

Korra turned back to her training. "I'm not afraid. I'm going to face him and there's nothing you can do to change that."

Meriona sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just be careful ok?"

Korra gave a stiff nod before continuing her training. Meriona walked away and headed towards the rendezvous point. She knew how tonight was going to go. She just hoped Korra would take her advice and not go.

*******************************************************************

Per Amon's instructions, Meriona waited with her team in the shadows at the base of Aang's statue. They were to wait until Korra gave up on waiting for Amon and then attack when her guard was down. Meriona was disappointed but not surprised to see Korra had not taken her advice. She was too stubborn for her own good. They waited for about an hour before Korra stood up from her seated position.

"Guess you're a no-show, Amon. Who's scared now?"

As Korra began to leave, Meriona signalled for her group to prepare. As Korra walked past, Meriona threw a bola thrown at her feet and dragged her into the base of the statue. Once Korra realised she was surrounded by a circle of chi blockers, she quickly bended a circle of fire around her in an attempt to defend herself. Meriona signalled her group and they quickly used whips to entangle her hands from both sides, preventing her from moving. Korra then attempted to escape by kicking some fire and earth around, but several quick punches from Meriona's chi blockers quickly rendered her unconscious.

Meriona felt extremely guilty. She believed Korra to be her friend, and look at what she did to her. She just hoped that when all this was over, Korra could forgive her.

Meriona watched as two Equalists took Korra by the arms and forced her to sit on her knees. As Korra regained consciousness, she looked up to see Amon entering the area.

"I received your invitation, young Avatar." Amon said menacingly.

Meriona saw the fear on Korra's face as Amon reached out and grabbed Korra by her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. Although it would be the simplest thing for me to take away your bending right now, I won't. You'd only become a martyr. Benders of every nation would rally behind your untimely demise, but I assure you, I have a plan. And I'm saving you for last, then you'll get your duel, and I will destroy you."

Meriona listened as Amon threatened Korra. She was glad to hear Amon wasn't planning on taking Korra's bending until the end, it gave them more time, The longer Korra had her bending, the more it could be used against Amon. As Amon finished his speech, he nodded to Meriona. Sending a silent apology, Meriona jabbed Korra on her shoulder causing her to pass out.

Quickly hearing commotion outside, Amon signalled for them all to disperse. While the others made for the water, Meriona herself, decided to climb to a higher of the statue, to make sure Korra was found okay. She watched as Tenzin arrived on the island and ran towards Korra, sitting her up gently.

"Korra! Korra, are you all right? What happened? Was Amon here?"

Korra sat up weakly. "Yeah, he ambushed me."

Meriona saw as the fear came across Tenzin's face. "Did he ... did he take your bending away?"

Korra faintly created a flame in the palm of her right hand, before closing it again. "No, I'm okay."

Meriona smiled at the obvious relief on Tenzin's face. "Ah, thank goodness."

Meriona watched as Korra broke into tears, embracing Tenzin as she cried. Meriona felt pride as she watched the airbender begin to comfort the Avatar. Tenzin had always been very stiff, to see him so open was unusual, but not unwelcome.

"You ... you were right." Korra wept. "I've been scared this whole time. I've never felt like this before and ... and Tenzin, I don't know what to do!"

Meriona felt so bad for Korra. She was in such a difficult position. It was hard to admit you're afraid when an entire city was relying on you. They were quite similar in that respect. Admitting weakness was hard for them, and for Korra, fear was a weakness.

Tenzin however, had the perfect response. "Admitting your fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them."

Meriona watched as the Tenzin continued to comfort Korra. He was right but overcoming her fear wasn't going to be easy. But Korra had them to help her through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: As you can see I've kept Mako with Asami to begin with. Their relationship will be slow-burn but I have high hopes for Mako and Meriona :)
> 
> All reviews welcome :)


	5. 1x05 The Spirit of Competition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Korra/Aang or any of its characters/storylines. I am only responsible for my OCs.

The Spirit of Competition

Meriona sat in the gym, watching as Korra, Mako and Bolin trained. It had been a few days since Korra's encounter with Amon and Meriona was still feeling guilty for what she had to do. Her guilt was lessened slightly by the fact that Korra seemed to have moved on from the event, quitting the task force and focusing on her probending and air bending training.

Amon had informed Meriona of his plans to disrupt the probending tournament in the coming days, but he was saving his attack for the final, hoping it would have a bigger effect on the city, so for the moment her only job was 'Avatar duty'.

She watched as the trio simultaneously knocked each other over with bending attacks, sending them all to the floor. They all sat up and laughed.

"It's been great having you at so many back-to-back practices, Korra." Mako said, removing his helmet.

"Feels good to be back." Korra said enthusiastically. "Although Tarrlok isn't too happy about my leave of absence."

"Hey, you joined the Fire Ferrets before you joined his task force." Bolin argued.

"Not to mention, the guy is a total creep." Meriona added in, making the trio laugh.

Mako rubbed his hands together. "Okay, come on, team huddle time!" He said, gesturing for Korra and Bolin to join him.

"Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel wanted Mako." Meriona teased.

Mako laughed. "You wanna join the huddle? Not a team without our favourite cheerleader."

"No, no, no. I know when I'm not wanted." Meriona retorted, theatrically wiping away a fake tear. "I guess I'll take this moment to go freshen up. After all, a cheerleader's got to look her best." As she flipped her hair dramatically and left the room, Meriona could hear the trio laughing at her act.

As time went on she felt more and more guilty for her lies towards the group. As she grew closer in friendship, the more guilt she felt. She knew her lies were necessary to keep her cover with Amon but she still hated it.

Once she returned, she re-entered the gym to see Mako and Asami eskimo kissing. She looked over to Korra who was looking extremely uncomfortable. Meriona knew that Korra had a crush on Mako, it was fairly obvious. She felt bad for her. It must be hard to see the guy you like with another person. Korra looked up and caught eye contact with Meriona, who pretended to gag at the sight of the couple being so loved up. Korra's small laugh and smile showed her appreciation for the gesture.

"Well, teammates, I'll see you before the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date." Mako waved them off as he left with Asami.

Looking over Meriona spotted Bolin looking nervously over at Korra. Predicting what was going to happen next, Meriona stepped back slightly to give them some room. She smiled at Bolin's poor attempt at flirting.

"So, Korra. There they go, here we are, all alone in the gym, just you and me, two alone people. Together. Alone."

Korra, however was completely unaware of Bolin's flirting.

"Ah, I gotta head back to the air temple to train with Tenzin. See ya!"

Meriona smiled sympathetically at the disappointed look on Bolin's face before walking up and leaning on his shoulder.

"Smooth."

"Shut up, Rona."

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Meriona left the boys that evening and went to see Korra. She wanted to make sure she was okay with the whole Mako, Asami thing.

After she successfully snuck onto the island, Meriona found Korra walking around the outskirts of the island.

"Hey, Korra. How was training?"

"You know, same old, same old."

"Still no airbending huh?" Meriona asked.

"It's just so frustrating." Korra yelled, kicking a nearby stone. "I'm learning every stance, every technique and nothing."

Meriona bit her lip, nervous to breach the topic she knew was really on Korra's mind.

"So your frustration has nothing to do with Asami and Mako?"

Korra turned around, face red. "Why would it?"

"Oh come on. I know you like him."

Horror flashed across Korra's face. "Does anyone else know?"

Meriona laughed. "No. Luckily for you, boys are more oblivious than girls."

Meriona was saying this however, in the full knowledge of how oblivious Korra was to Bolin's feelings.

"Well, good. Cause there's nothing to know."

"Uh huh." Meriona said doubtingly.

Korra just smiled back. "Shut up Rona."

"You know I think that's gunna be my calling card. Everyone seems to say it to me." Meriona joked.

"Can't imagine why." Korra returned sarcastically.

They stood in silence for a while looking over the city, before Meriona broke it.

"But seriously, if you ever want anyone to talk to about it, you know, if there was an 'it', I'm here."

Korra smiled at her. "Thanks. I'll bear that in mind."

Their conversation was cut short when they heard the voices of the airbending children coming towards them.

"I think that's my sign to leave." Meriona said.

"You sure you don't want to meet them? They're quite sweet kids when you get to know them."

They heard a distant crash and thud as Korra finished her sentence.

"I'm good. Something tells me, they're more trouble than they look. See ya later."

*****************************************************

The next day, Meriona went to watch the Fire Ferrets' first match. The Fire Ferrets had an easy win, effectively working together to beat the other team. The crowd seemed pleasantly surprised at their win, joining her in cheering for them.

She went to congratulate them after their game, but walked into what felt like the most awkward moment in history. Bolin seemed to be celebrating something in the corner, opposite a very dejected looking Korra, while Mako looked at the pair uneasily with Asami clinging to his arm. She had definitely missed something.

After the arena had been cleared out, Meriona returned to the tower to talk to the boys and find out what was going on. Earlier, she had made a quick escape after congratulating the team, not wanting to be dragged into the awkwardness, but now she wanted to know what happened. Hopefully the tension would have worn off.

Her hopes were short lived when she entered the boys' apartment to see Mako nervously pacing.

"Um … What are you doing?"

Her sudden appearance took Mako by surprise, making him jump.

"Woah. Someone's a bit tense. What's going on?"

Mako was furious. "Bolin and Korra are on a date, can you believe that? After I specifically told Bolin it was a bad idea, he asked her anyway. What's the point in asking for my advice if he was just going to ignore it? And then there's Korra. Not five seconds after she told me she liked me, she agrees to go on another date. I mean can you believe the nerve –"

"Wait, wait, wait." Meriona interrupted. "Korra told you she liked you?" She asked astonished. "Wow. Didn't think she had it in her."

"Wait. You knew Korra liked me." Mako accused.

"Of course I did. I know Korra likes you, Bolin likes Korra, you like Asami but you also kinda like Korra and I'm awkwardly caught in the middle of this mess."

"Hey, I don't like Korra like that!" Mako defended.

Meriona subtlety rolled her eyes. "Right, right. My mistake."

"I'm serious Rona. I'm with Asami."

"Yeah, I know. So why can't Korra go on a date with Bolin?" She asked.

"Because she just told me she likes me!" Mako argued.

"And what was your response to this?"

Mako suddenly became very quiet and cool. "I told her I didn't see her in that way."

"Which brings me back to the question, why can't she go on a date with Bolin?"

"Because –" Meriona held up her hands to cut him off.

"You turned her down. Bolin asked her, she said yes. It doesn't mean they're together. It means they're seeing what happens. Unless it's the thought of Korra being on any date that gets you so rattled?" Meriona teased.

"What?! No!"

"Then you're just going to have to accept what's happening and deal with the outcome."

Mako sighed, collapsing into the sofa. "You're right."

*****************************************************

It seemed Mako had ignored Meriona's advice to let it go and he and Korra seemed to be at odds with each other.

Meriona cringed as she watched their match. Korra and Mako were clumsily falling into each other while it was left to Bolin to secure their win. Luckily, Bolin had his head in the game and won the tie breaker of round three to win them the match. Meriona had a vague idea of what Korra and Mako were fighting about and she had her suspicions it wasn't going to end well.

The moment the match was over, Meriona went to find the team, hoping to prevent any further escalation. She found Bolin in the changing room.

"Hey Bolin. Great game."

"Thanks Rona. We won the quarterfinals, can you believe it?"

"Thanks to your tie-breaker. Nice play by the way."

"Thanks." Bolin reached into his bag and pulled out some flowers.

"For me Bolin, you shouldn't have." Meriona teased.

"They're for Korra." Bolin said happily. "Our date last night was amazing."

Meriona's smile faded. She didn't want to see Bolin hurt. She knew she had defended Korra to Mako the day before, but she knew that Korra really liked Mako. She had trusted Korra not to be unfair to Bolin, and she hoped her faith hadn't been misplaced.

Unfortunately, it seemed it was.

As Meriona and Bolin left the arena, they walked outside to see Korra and Mako kissing on the balcony. Bolin quickly burst into tears, dropping the flowers on the floor and running away. Meriona looked to the pair, furious.

"Bolin, this isn't what you think!" Mako called after his brother, before turning to Korra, angrily. "Great, look at what you did!"

"You're blaming me?"

"You kissed me!"

"You kissed me back!"

Mako raised his fists and growled in frustration, after going to follow Bolin. Meriona held up a hand stopping him in his tracks.

"You've done enough." She stated coldly, before turning to face Korra. "You both have."

Leaving them with that, Meriona chased after Bolin.

Meriona finally found Bolin in Narook's Seaweed Noodley eating away his troubles. Meriona pulled up a chair next to him.

"Hey, how you doing?" She asked.

With that Bolin burst into tears again. There wasn't much Meriona could do except sit with him and comfort him for the rest of the night.

*****************************************************

Meriona woke in the morning to the sound of a familiar voice entering the restaurant.

"Morning, Narook. My brother here? Thanks"

Meriona glared at Mako as he walked over the table, timidly avoiding her gaze, focusing instead on Bolin.

"Come on. Wake up. Taking you home, bro."

Bolin looked up and sniffed dejectedly. "Don't call me that. You're not my brother! You're a brother betrayer!" He sobbed "The only one I can trust anymore is Pabu! Pabu loves me. Pabu and Rona!"

"You're a mess, and we've got the biggest match of our lives tonight. Let's go."

As Mako attempted to put a hand on Bolin's shoulder, he slapped it away. "No! I'm not going anywhere with you, you traitor!"

Mako turned to Meriona with a desperate look. Meriona sent him a glare back insinuating 'you caused this, you fix this' gesturing towards Bolin.

"Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Mako grumbled before hauling Bolin onto his back as he continued to sob.

"Told you dating a teammate was a bad idea."

"You're a bad idea! Put me down! Put me down!" Bolin complained, fighting weakly to escape Mako's grip.

Meriona watched as the brothers walked out of the restaurant. Their problems were going to have to wait. She hadn't checked in with Amon in over two days and he would be expecting an update. As it was, there was nothing more Meriona could do in the situation except wait for the trio to sort it out themselves. But Korra and Mako were definitely going to get an earful from her.

*****************************************************

Meriona returned from her update in time to watch the Fire Ferrets in their match.

The update didn't take long, as little had happened. She informed Amon of Korra's plans to continue to compete as a probender, a prospect Amon found delighting. He wanted to use it against the benders when the time came.

He ordered Meriona to carry on as she was but only update if and when she had more information. On one hand, Meriona was relieved to be away from the Equalists for a while, but on the other hand, she didn't want to be left out of any of Amon's upcoming plans. She just hoped she was important enough to always be filled in on any of their plans.

Putting the Equalists out of her mind for the moment, Meriona concentrated on the match.

The events from the night before had clearly had an effect on the team. Their movements were sloppy and unsynchronised.

They barely survived round one, with Mako ending up in the water while Bolin and Korra were forced to the edge. Round two didn't go much better. Mako accidently managed to send a fireblast that hit Bolin. Bolin's temporary distraction was all the opposition needed to knock him into the water. Korra attempted a waterbending move which had her penalised to the second zone, causing them to lose the second round also. Their only chance of winning now was to get a knockout in the third round, which was looking unlikely with the way they were playing. It looked like one night's mistakes would cost them the championship.

The moment the bell sounded for the third round, Bolin was struck in the shoulder by an earth coin, causing him to cry out in pain. Mako looked over at the sound of his brother's distress, only to be knocked into the water by the opposition. Meriona was impressed to see that Bolin tried to keep playing with one arm but his fall into the water was inevitable. All that remained was Korra.

It seemed as though the Fire Ferrets had lost when Korra brought back an amazing comeback. She managed to manipulate the opposition to stand in a line before knocking them all out with a single blast of water. Meriona screamed in excitement. She did it!

"It didn't seem possible, folks, but the Fire Ferrets are headed to the finals!"

Meriona glanced over to see Mako embracing Bolin in a hug and smiled. Looked like they were going to be okay. Once the arena was cleared, Meriona ran to join the team in the changing room.

*****************************************************

She entered to see Korra healing Bolin's shoulder as Mako and Asami embraced in the corner. The awkward tension she expected to feel was gone. She walked over to Bolin and Korra as they made up.

"Bolin, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to let things get so out of hand." Korra apologised.

"Ahh, I'll be all right. But we had fun together, didn't we?"

"I had a great time, honestly! You are one of a kind, Bolin."

"Please, go on. I enjoy praise."

Meriona smiled at them. She was glad they could sort it all out so quickly. Bolin may have been very upset the night before but truth be told, he was a bit of a drama queen. But as Korra said, it made him one of a kind.

"Glad you guys got all that sorted. Thought I was going to have to take sides." Meriona joked.

"And I wouldn't want to be on your bad side Rona." Korra said.

Bolin turned to her and smiled. "But thanks for being there for me Rona. You're a great friend."

Meriona returned the smile. "No problem."

Bolin stood up to get changed as Korra continued to stare sadly at Mako and Asami. Meriona sighed and walked up to her.

"Don't think I'm not still mad for what you guys did, but I'm still here for you too Korra. Whenever you need to talk."

Korra smiled gratefully. "I may just take you up on that offer."

Suddenly, an announcement was made over the arena. "Your winners, the Wolfbats!"

Korra turned around surprised. "What? How is it over already?"

"With a brutal round one knockout, the defending champs secure their spot in the finals. I hope the Ferrets know a good doctor, 'cause they're gonna need one!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note - Not much happened in this episode for Meriona but the next one will be a big one!


	6. 1x06 And the Winner is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Korra/Aang or any of its characters/storylines. I am only responsible for my OCs.
> 
> Author's Note - I know! It's up so much earlier than I thought. I started writing and it all just came out :)

And the winner is …

Meriona stood at Amon's side as he made the radio announcement.

"Good morning, citizens of Republic City. This is Amon. I hope you all enjoyed last night's pro-bending match, because it will be the last. It's time for this city to stop worshiping bending athletes as if they were heroes. I am calling on the council to shut down the bending arena and cancel the finals, or else there will be severe consequences."

As the transmission cut out, Amon turned to Meriona and the Lieutenant. "Today will mark a new step in our journey towards equality. I need both of you to make sure everything goes to plan."

Meriona crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "What is the plan exactly?" She asked.

Amon signalled for the two of them to follow him into his office. As Meriona followed behind, she began to strategize. If the arena remained open, she needed to have a plan to minimise casualties. Once in his office, Amon closed the door and sat down at his desk.

"Over the past couple of months our numbers have increased and now we have enough people to strike a powerful blow at the city's benders. I feel comfortable enough in our numbers that I do not feel we need both of you fighting at the arena tonight."

Both the Lieutenant and Meriona were taken aback. They were his best fighters, it was a bit of a surprise he didn't want them both fighting.

"Meriona. I want you to reaffirm your position with the Avatar. This war is truly about to begin and we need you on the inside. That is why, I have a specific mission for you tonight."

*********************************************************************

Meriona stood overlooking the loading of their supply trucks. Amon had informed her of her role for that evening should the arena remain open. She was to be seen, by Korra, fighting the Equalists, trying to help. Amon hoped that seeing Meriona fight back physically as well as vocally would strengthen her position with Korra.

Meriona sighed. More lying. Evading the truth, disappearing she could do, but tricking her friends was getting more difficult, more painful. It was half the reason she didn't want her family to know she was back. Lying to them like this would be even worse. And yet she knew that she was going to be a big play in Amon's plan. She knew that revealing her true identity and loyalty to the Equalists would have the city riled. She could only hope that they could stop Amon before that time came.

Yet she felt there was so little she could do. Amon kept his general whereabouts unknown and last minute to prevent anyone from ever betraying his location. She dropped off small hints and intel to the council, but any factory or training camp discovered was quickly replaced. The only way to truly stop the Equalists was to capture Amon, a scenario she was struggling to set up.

Her inner thoughts were interrupted when Amon came to stand by her.

"Soon we will have the city. No one will feel inferior. When this is over, your family will treat you like an equal. You won't be alone again."

Meriona smirked and looked up to Amon. "I look forward to it."

Amon looked out over where his people were loading cargo into trucks as the Lieutenant came around the corner.

"I just got word. The council defied your threat. They're keeping the arena open." He informed them.

"Perfect. Everything is going according to plan."

Meriona turned away from the Lieutenant and back over the cargo bay. She had hoped the arena would have been closed, it would have saved her the trouble. Now she needed a new plan.

*********************************************************************

Meriona had managed to excuse herself from the Equalists to 'prepare' for the evening. At least, that is what she told them. In reality, she was once more, breaking into City Hall. Amon had planned everything leading up to this night, making sure that the security at the arena would be completely unprepared for their threat.

Meriona had discovered that Chief Beifong's metalbenders would be the main source of security at the event. She knew that they did this in order s to counteract the Equalist chi blockers, as chi blocking did not work through their armour. Clever, but also exactly what Amon had predicted. Amon had an engineer who had created gloves that could send a shock of electricity to anyone or anything it touched. Every Equalist had been armed with one, and with all the security wearing metal, it wasn't looking good.

Meriona was still unaware of who the mystery engineer was, but she knew she could still do something to help. She broke into Tarrlok's office and planted her intel about the new technology. If Tarrlok took action, the police should be prepared for the attack with the new weaponry.

With there being nothing more she could do, Meriona made her way to the arena, hoping everything would work out.

*********************************************************************

As the audience were taking their seats, Meriona made her way to the dressing rooms to wish the team good luck. As she walked in Bolin was giving a pep talk to Pabu. Meriona giggled. She knew Bolin had been preparing Pabu for an opening performance to their game, and it was funny to see him getting so upbeat about it.

"Hey Rona." Mako welcomed.

"Hey guys. I won't keep you waiting, I just wanted to wish you good luck."

"Thanks Rona." Korra said gratefully. "I'm glad you came to watch."

"I'm gunna be watching from the back I'm afraid. This place is basically sold out. Bet it's a hell of a crowd."

"Oh I know." Bolin said enthusiastically. "Why don't you watch from here? Great view and it's not like we're using it."

"That's a great idea!" They were interrupted when someone came into the room, giving the team a two minute warning. "Looks like you're up. You'll do great guys. Kick their butts."

Mako laughed. "We'll do our best."

She waved them off as they walked onto their podium. She took the opportunity to look around the arena. From what she could see, the main security was still metalbenders, but she knew Tarrlok would have made some security improvements after seeing her intel.

"Introducing the challengers, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets!"

Meriona cheered as the Fire Ferrets came to the arena, joined by a number of fans in the audience. When they reached the arena, Bolin signalled to Pabu. Meriona watched as Pabu jumped down and walked around on his front paws before doing some backflips while Bolin uses an earth disk, removing the centre for Pabu to backflip through and back, ending the performance with one paw standing.

Meriona laughed and cheered at the performance. "Haha. Yeah! Go Pabu!"

"And their opponents, the three timed defending champions, the White Falls Wolfbats!"

Meriona watched, unimpressed as the bat-masked Wolfbats howled and spread their wing capes while fireworks went off all around the arena. She briefly caught eye contact with Mako before mouthing the work 'lame' and faking a yawn. Mako briefly smirked before taking is playing stance.

"The champs and challengers face off at the centre-line and here we go!"

From the moment the starting bell rang, Meriona watched as the Wolfbats pushed the Ferrets further towards the water. It became apparent very early that the refs had been paid off. Someone wanted the Fire Ferrets to lose. As angry as Meriona was at the lack of honour in the game, she couldn't help but feel more nervous for the incoming Equalist attack.

Amon told her he planned to attack after the winners had been decided, but he hadn't told her much more than that. He said he wanted her surprise to be realistic.

The Ferrets barely survived the first round, with Korra only just being able to throw Mako back onto the arena after they had each been pushed out. The second round ended up being decided by a tiebreaker. Meriona cheered as Korra wiped out Tahno, sending him into a fury but securing them the second round. Sadly, whatever hope the Ferrets had, was taken as the Wolfbats used several illegal plays to knock all three Fire Ferrets into the water. The game was over, and Meriona knew what that meant.

She looked out into the stands to see anything suspicious but noticed nothing. Maybe Tarrlok had done something to dissuade the attack.

Suddenly, Meriona heard Tenzin shout.

"Look out!"

Meriona followed the sound of the cry to see both the Chief and Tenzin being electrocuted with the gloves by Equalists. Looking around the arena she watched at blue sparks were emitted as, one by one, all the metalbenders were electrocuted by the gloves. Meriona was furious. Where was Tarrlok? Where was his task force? She knew he got her warning so why had nothing been done to prevent this?

Looking down into the water, she watched as Mako, Bolin and Korra all surfaced and noticed the electricity in the stands. Before they could react, Meriona saw the Lieutenant drop onto the platform underneath the arena. Despite Korra's attempt to waterbend at him, the Lieutenant charged his kali sticks and jabbed them into the water electrocuting the team.

Meriona could hear the spectators screaming in fear as Amon rose onto the arena from a lift and she frowned. Amon wanted her to be seen fighting the Equalists? Well, alright then.

While Amon and the Equalists were busy fighting the Wolfbats, Meriona jumped forward from the changing room balcony, propelling herself down onto the platform under the arena, just as the team were waking up after being tied up by three Equalists. When she landed, she quickly took out the nearest chi blocker, kicking their feet out from under them and pushing them to the floor forcefully.

"Rona, look out!" She heard Mako cry.

She turned around in time to dodge the other Equalist's attacks. As she faced off in hand to hand combat with one of them, she noticed the other one charging towards her with a charged electric glove. Waiting for the right moment, Meriona quickly flipped over the chi blocker, twisting their arm behind their back. As the other charged into them, Meriona used the momentum of the Equalists to send them into the pool, electrocuting themselves as they hit the water. Smirking she turned back to face her shocked friends.

"Nice moves!" Bolin said impressed.

As she moved to untie the trio, the Lieutenant landed in front of her, blocking her path. She knew this meant Amon didn't want her to save the Avatar, no yet. She growled as she realised she was supposed to lose this fight.

She charged at the Lieutenant, making it seem as though she was planning to hit him straight on. As she approached closer, she flipped over the top of him, crouching to the floor and kicking at his legs, as she landed. The Lieutenant managed to avoid her kick before going in to attack her with closer combat, after many quick jab exchanges, he caught eye contact with her and whispered.

"Make sure the Avatar gets out unharmed."

As Meriona frowned in confusion, she let her guard down, allowing the Lieutenant to shock her with his kali sticks. As she felt the electricity coursing through her body, Meriona screamed. As she fell to the floor, the last thing she saw was Korra, Mako and Bolin calling out for her. Guilt was the last thing she felt before darkness consumed her.

*********************************************************************

Meriona woke to the sound of her name being called.

"Rona! Rona! Rona!" Groggily lifting her head, she found herself tied to the post opposite the Fire Ferrets.

"Ugh, hey guys."

Mako visibly relaxed as he saw she was okay. "You alright?" He asked, concerned.

Meriona shook her head, sitting up straighter. "Yeah, I'm ok. Sorry I wasn't much help there."

"Are you kidding?" Bolin said. "You were incredible. The way you took out those Equalists was so cool! I mean up until you lost to the Lieutenant and got electrocuted but …" He trailed off.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that anyway?" Korra asked.

Meriona smirked. "I live on the streets remember. I had to learn." As she spoke she became aware of something in her back pocket. As she reached round she realised it was a knife. The Lieutenant must have planted it on her. "I also learnt to carry this around with me." As she managed to show the group the knife, their faces lit up. "It comes in handy."

Meriona began to saw away at the rope keeping her to the post while Amon continued with his speech. Looking out across the water, Meriona noticed the Wolfbats climbing out the water. She frowned as she realised Amon must have taken their bending away. Meriona realised he must have wanted the Wolfbats to win so he could take their bending away rather than Korra's. He paid off the refs! It would explain why he wanted her to have to knife. To make sure Korra escaped unharmed, just after he had given his speech.

"So once again, the Wolfbats are your pro-bending champions. It seems fitting that you celebrate three bullies who cheated their way to victory because every day, you threaten and abuse your fellow nonbending citizens just like the Wolfbats did to their opponents tonight."

Meriona glanced over again to the Wolfbats who were desperately trying to bend again. She felt bad for them as she saw the realisation that they couldn't cross their face.

"Those men were supposedly the best in the bending world and yet it only took a few moments for me to cleanse them of their impurity."

Meriona frowned. Bending was not an impurity. It was a gift. She may not bend but that did not mean it was wrong. And she still didn't understand how they got in so easily if the security had been warned of the gloves. The only explanation she could think of was Tarrlok did not share this information. Meriona always knew he was a snake, but she didn't think he would risk the safety of others just to discredit Chief Beifong in an attempt to increase his own power.

"Let this be a warning to all of you benders out there, if any of you stand in my way, you will meet the same fate. Now, to my followers. For years the Equalists have been forced to hide in the shadows, but now we have the numbers and the strength to create a new Republic City. I'm happy to tell you that the time for change has finally come. Very soon, the current tyrannical bending regime will be replaced by a fair-minded Equalist government. You and your children will no longer have to walk the streets afraid! It's time to take back our city!"

"Come on Rona!" Korra sad impatiently.

Meriona glared in her direction. "It's harder than it looks. Why don't you guys firebend your way out?"

"Can't." Mako replied. "Don't have enough room to do it."

"For centuries, benders have possessed an unnatural advantage over ordinary people. But thankfully, modern technology has provided us with a way to even out the playing field. Now anyone can hold the power of a chi blocker in their hand. My followers and I will not rest until the entire city achieves equality, and once that goal is achieved, we will equalize the rest of the world. The revolution has begun!"

Meriona was almost through the ropes when she heard airships pass over the arena. She heard glass from the roof smash and ropes with platforms lower down through the hole. As she finally got to the ends of the rope she flexed her muscles enough to tear through the remaining strands. Immediately she headed over to untie Bolin, Mako and Korra.

Before Meriona could reach them, the entire arena was filled with explosions, rocking the platform, causing Meriona to rebalance herself. Looking up she saw all the Equalists being lifted out of the arena.

"Rona, quick!" Shouted Korra.

"Right." Meriona quickly ran and cut the trio free with one pull.

Once free, Korra wasted no time in running off the platform, freezing water to land on.

"I'm going after Amon!"

"Be careful!" Mako called after her.

Meriona and the brothers watched as Korrajumped into the water before waterbending herself up in a massive water cyclone, heading toward the hole in the roof. As Korra's cyclone began to fall apart, Meriona watched as Beifong metalbended a cable around her waist, propelling Korra up and out of the arena.

Having lost visual, Meriona turned to the brothers.

"Come on! This place is becoming unstable and we need to help get these people out of here."

"Right!" They agreed.

Meriona, Mako and Bolin ran to the stalls of the arena, helping to remove debris from the explosions and get the audience out safely. As they separated to help more people, a large slap of the arena gave way, falling off the platform and crashing into the walls of the stalls. As Meriona looked in the direction of the damage she spotted Tenzin regaining consciousness after his earlier electrocution. She saw that just above him, the crash had caused a bit of the ceiling to come loose. Without hesitating, Meriona ran as fast as she could and threw herself at Tenzin, knocking him out of the way, just as the debris fell.

They both held their heads as they looked back at what could have crushed them. As Tenzin turned to face his rescuer, his face drained in shock as he recognised her.

"Meriona?!"

Meriona looked back to face the man she hadn't seen in 4 years. All hopes to keep her presence a secret, were gone. She looked up at him with a blank expression.

"Hey Dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note - Yes! Tenzin is Meriona's dad. Well done to all who guessed it. I tried to keep it as secret as I could :) Next chapter will be a special one. Now that we know who she is, we're going to find out how she became who she is. Really looking forward to sharing this character that I have been building.
> 
> All reviews welcome. Let me know if you guessed it or what your other ideas were


	7. It's in the Past

Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Korra/Aang or any of its characters or storylines.

It was afternoon at Air Temple Island and a young girl was running around in the woods. She laughed as she played, chasing the birds in the sky. When she had ran far enough, the woodland cleared and she reached the edge of the island. She stood at the edge and looked out across the water at the statue of Avatar Aang. She stood and watched in awe when she heard voices calling for her.

"Meriona! Meriona!"

Meriona suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, picked up by her father Tenzin.

"Meriona, you know you're not allowed to wander off alone."

"I'm sorry Daddy. I wanted to explore."

"Until you are old enough, I don't want you going anywhere alone."

"I am old enough Daddy."

Tenzin smiled at his daughter. "I'm afraid I don't classify 5 as old enough sweetheart."

Meriona pointed out at Aang's statue. "Where is Papa Aang?"

Tenzin sighed, holding his daughter closer to him. "He's gone sweetheart."

"So I won't get to see him?" Meriona asked innocently.

"I'm afraid not, but you will meet his next life."

Meriona frowned. "I don't understand."

"You will someday. Until then we'll continue to make him proud."

"How?"

"We continue his legacy." Tenzin laughed at his daughter's confused face. "Papa Aang did so many good things. He helped a lot of people. We make him proud by doing the same thing."

"I will Daddy." Meriona nodded. "I'll be really good."

"I know you will sweetheart." Tenzin said, kissing her forehead before carrying her back to the temple.

*************************************************************************

"Is Mummy going to be alright?" Meriona asked, hugging closer into Tenzin's arms.

"Of course she will sweetheart." He reassured her. "Soon you'll have a new brother or sister."

Meriona was 8 years old, waiting with her father to welcome her new sibling into the world. She was excited to have a brother or sister. Growing up on the island, Meriona had always felt very isolated. Tenzin was a very loving father but very overprotective. He was always wary of the fact that Meriona could be the only airbender of a generation so restricted her movements to prevent her from getting into any trouble. It meant Meriona met very few people from off the island.

"But what if they don't like me?" Meriona asked worriedly.

Tenzin smiled gently at his daughter. "How could they not."

They were interrupted when they heard a baby's cries coming from down the corridor. Tenzin picked up Meriona and quickly carried her into the room where her mother was lying on the bed, holding a small bundle.

"Tenzin." She greeted happily.

"Pema." He responded softly.

"Are you okay Mummy?" Meriona asked.

Pema smiled sweetly before holding out her hand. "Yes sweetie. Come over and meet your new sister."

Tenzin placed Meriona on the floor and she timidly walked over to Pema's bedside. She nervously peered over to look at the bundle in Pema's arms.

"Meriona. This your new sister, Jinora."

Leaning in closely, Meriona looked at her new sister and smiled. Holding out her hand, Meriona laughed as Jinora grabbed her finger tightly.

"Hi Jinora." She said, smiling as Jinora giggled. "I'm going to be the best sister ever."

*************************************************************************

"Try harder Meriona!"

"I am! I just can't do it! I'm sorry Dad." Meriona said frustrated.

"You can. Just focus."

Meriona continued the airbending form, moving in a circular motion, one hand held out in front of her. As the form came to an end, she attempted once more to release a gust of air from her hands. It didn't work. Meriona let out a growl of frustration.

"See, I told you! I can't do it."

"Then you haven't mastered the forms correctly." Tenzin scolded.

"I have Dad! I've learnt every movement, every stance, meditation, scroll. I'm 13 years old and I've never airbended. Face it, I can't! And you pushing me harder and harder isn't going to mean that I will."

Tenzin wouldn't accept it. "Of course you will. You just need more training."

"No Dad. I've trained every day for my whole life! That's it. Jinora is 5 and she has already started. Ikki is 2 and even she sends paper flying every time she sneezes. I bet even the new baby will learn before my age. If I could airbend, I would have by now."

Ikki was born 3 years after Jinora, and Meriona was glad to have another sister. Although their difference in age, Meriona was close with both of her sisters, helping her mother take care of them both.

Meriona and Jinora had started to train together a couple of years ago and Jinora picked up the techniques very quickly, soon learning to airbend. Seeing how quickly Jinora had picked up airbending, Tenzin started to get harsher and stricter with Meriona's training, to no avail.

"So that's it? You're giving up?" Tenzin accused.

"I'm not giving up, I'm accepting the truth. I did a while ago. I have, Mum has. You should too."

With that, Meriona stormed past her father and headed into the temple. As she entered the kitchen, she spotted Pema washing the dishes. The moment she caught eye contact, Meriona broke into tears and threw herself into her mother's arms. Pema held her daughter and comforted her until all her tears were wept.

"Why can't I airbend Mum?" Meriona asked quietly.

Pema sighed. "I don't know darling. Some people just can't. I can't. It shouldn't change how you see yourself."

"But I'm Avatar Aang's granddaughter. I should be able to. I'm the only one who can't." She complained.

"Hey." Pema grabbed Meriona's chin and forced her to look into her eyes. "Do not, for one minute think you are alone in this. You're not the only one who can't bend. Look at your uncle Bumi. First child of Avatar Aang and he never bended, but he never let that stop him."

Meriona smiled at the memory of her fun loving uncle. He was a general in the United Forces, the protector of the peace. Bumi was an inspiration to her. He was everything she could be.

"The world is your limit Rona. Don't let anything get in your way."

*************************************************************************

Meriona laughed as she watched her siblings play with Oogi. Jinora and Ikki had both progressed very quickly with their airbending, using it to propel themselves all over Oogi. Meriona bounced her year old brother on her knee as her sisters jumped and laughed. Their fun was interrupted when a familiar voice announced themselves.

"What? You'd prefer to play with a bison rather than your own uncle?" Bumi joked.

"Uncle Bumi!" The sisters all ran to their uncle embracing him in a hug.

Meriona walked over and hugged her uncle tightly with one arm while holding Meelo with the other. "Hey uncle Bumi."

"Hey kiddo. How you doing?" Bumi asked.

Meriona and Bumi had bonded over the years due to their lack of bending. Bumi understood Meriona more than anyone. While Tenzin focussed the majority of his attention on his airbending children, the uncle took his eldest niece under his wing. Ever since Meriona had given up on bending a year ago, she and Tenzin had grown further and further apart. He still instructed her to learn every scroll they had but to her, it just felt like a way to keep her occupied. Meriona was still close with Pema, but with three other much younger airbending children, her hands were kept busy most of the time.

Meriona had been glad for the time of leave Bumi had taken from the United Forces as it gave them more time together, but this was his last day before returning and she was going to miss him.

"I'm okay." She said smiling.

"I'm heading off now, I just wanted to say goodbye to my favourite nieces."

Meriona laughed sadly as Meelo made a disgruntled grumbling noise.

"And my favourite nephew." Bumi laughed.

"We're gunna miss you uncle Bumi." Ikki said.

"And I'm gunna miss you too." Bumi said, ruffling her hair. "But where would the United Forces be without their best general?"

Meriona smiled. "When do you think you'll be back?"

"Don't worry, I won't be away for long."

Embracing the children once more, Bumi boarded his boat and waved off the family as Tenzin and Pema joined them. Meriona handed over Meelo to Pema, as they watched Bumi sail away.

As Bumi disappeared into the distance, Tenzin gave Meriona a parting glance before he took Jinora and Ikki inside, leaving Meriona with Pema looking over the water. Pema looked hesitantly over at her daughter.

"You're going to miss him." She stated.

"Yeah." Meriona said. "He was the only one who really understood. Without him, I feel kind of … alone."

Pema turned to stand in front of her daughter, shifting Meelo's wait to her other arm. "You're leaving aren't you?"

Meriona bowed her head. "I was going to. I'm Aang's granddaughter, but I'm not an airbender. I just wanted to find out who I was outside of this family. Outside of bending." She sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, guess I'm caught now so it doesn't really matter anymore."

"Go."

Meriona turned to her mother shocked and confused. "What?"

Pema sighed deeply. "Go and see your grandmother, travel, see the world. Do what you have to do but know we are always here and you always have a home here Meriona."

Meriona grabbed her mother in an embrace as she began to tear up. "Thank you Mum."

*************************************************************************

That night, Meriona packed her bags and snuck onto a boat heading to the South Pole. She left quietly, the only person knowing she left being Pema. She had been able to convince her not to tell anyone of her plan, she didn't want anyone changing her mind, let alone her father. She sat on the boat watching as Air Temple Island disappeared. It would be 4 years until she returned, and a lot was going to happen in that time.

Author's note - There you go. A quick chapter of Meriona's life before she left the island. As time goes on, I will reveal more and more about what she did in her 4 years away :)

Next chapter will be the next episode.

All reviews welcome


	8. 1x07 Aftermath

Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Aang/Korra or any of its characters/storylines.

*********************************************************

Aftermath

Meriona was standing in Amon's office listening to Tarrlok's announcement at the press conference in response to the recent attack on the pro bending arena.

"Although the Hundred Year War has long passed, we are not living in a time of peace. These revolutionaries who call themselves Equalists are not interested in equality at all. They just want to wage war against benders."

Meriona frowned as she listened. Before the attack on the arena, she had believed Tarrlok to be an arrogant, self-obsessed snake but one who would never endanger innocent people. She didn't believe that anymore. She had provided him with more than enough intel to prevent the attack on the arena and he didn't use it. It became clear to Meriona that Tarrlok had simply seen it as an opportunity to cement his own power and discredit Beifong.

"Chief Beifong was supposed to protect Republic City, but she was powerless to stop Amon's attack on the arena. She has failed us all. If we are to survive these dire times, our law enforcement needs new leadership."

Meriona didn't know Beifong very well but she knew she didn't deserve this. Unlike Tarrlok, Beifong had put a lot of effort into the security at the arena, she just hadn't known about the gloves. Beifong cared for the people, much more than Tarrlok ever could.

When it came to plans going astray, Amon hadn't been too happy with the reveal of her identity either and the Lieutenant certainly wasn't holding back his opinions.

"You went against everything you were told to do. Now that the Avatar knows who you are, you may lose your position with her because of your lies to her!" He accused.

"It's hardly my fault! If your men did their job properly, I wouldn't have had to push Tenzin out the way." She argued.

"So what if he got hurt, he's a bender. Rethinking our position are we?"

"Of course not. I want bending gone but I don't want the benders themselves gone. Our mission is about equality. About bringing everyone to the same level, not hurting all those on different ones!"

"She is right." Amon interrupted.

Meriona smirked as she saw the Lieutenant fall silent immediately.

"Besides, we can use this to our advantage. If Tenzin is occupied enough with the return of his daughter, he may be distracted from our actions."

Meriona could see Amon's point. Her return had certainly shocked Tenzin.

*********************************************************

After Meriona had pushed him out of the way, Tenzin stared in astonishment at his daughter, his mouth gaping open.

"Meriona?! What – what are you doing here?"

"Saving you it seems." She said, picking herself up and brushing off the rubble.

"But – but – Where? How? I – " He stammered.

Meriona frowned as she looked around the arena nervously. This certainly hadn't been the plan and she had no idea what to do next.

"Rona!" Meriona turned to see the probending brothers running towards her.

"Rona. Are you okay?" Mako asked, rushing towards her.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Phew, cause we saw that giant rock falling and we thought you guys were both gone for." Bolin exclaimed, before noticing Tenzin still frozen from his position on the floor. "Uh, sir. Are you okay?"

"You're their Rona?!" Tenzin accused, pointing a finger at Meriona, who was rubbing her head in stress. Tenzin slowly lowered his hand, a sad thought crossing his mind. "You've been back for weeks." He said softly.

Mako and Bolin looked between the father and daughter, confused. "Anyone want to fill us in on what's happening?" Mako said grumpily.

Before either could reply, they all looked to the ceiling after hearing the cracking of glass and screaming as Korra fell through the roof.

"KORRA!" They all shouted, watching as she fell closer and closer to the ground.

Soon following Korra through the hole was Beifong. Beifong shot a cable to the side, latching it to an Equalist banner before shooting another cable down at Korra. Korra caught the cable and they both managed to swing towards the stands, tearing the banner. Beifong landed on her feet while Korra rolled to her hands and knees. While Bolin, Mako and Tenzin watched in worry, Meriona secretly stepped into the shadows. Once she was sure Korra and Beifong were okay, Meriona quietly snuck out of the arena while Tenzin was occupied.

*********************************************************

And Meriona hadn't seen them since. After the immediate danger had passed, Meriona was scared of the confrontation with Tenzin. She knew she couldn't avoid it forever. She owed her friends an explanation and she knew Tenzin would be looking for her. Now that he knew she was back, she couldn't avoid him.

After her meeting with Amon, Meriona headed over to the arena. She had found out that the arena was being shut and was going over to speak with the brothers. The likelihood that Korra would there was quite high and she needed to speak with them.

As she arrived she spotted Naga waiting outside the police tape and figured Korra would be inside. Sighing deeply, Meriona nervously made her way up to the boy's apartment.

As she entered the tower, Meriona could hear the group talking overhead.

"Guys, great news. You don't have to go back on the streets. I talked to Tenzin and made all the arrangements. You can come live on Air Temple Island with me." She heard Korra announce.

Meriona could hear the awkwardness in Mako's reply. "Oh, we'd love to, but-"

"Asami already invited us to live in her dad's giant mansion!" Bolin interrupted excitedly. "From here on out, it's going to be the lap of luxury for us."

"Hey, Korra. I was hoping you'd stop by." Meriona cringed on hearing Asami's voice. Meriona got on with her well, but she knew that Korra liked Mako and she could imagine how awkward she was feeling.

Deciding the atmosphere couldn't get any more awkward, Meriona climbed the ladder into the attic. The moment the group realised she was there, the attic fell into an awkward silence with them all staring at her. Ok, it could get worse.

"Hey guys." Meriona said cautiously, holding her hand up in a hesitant wave.

"Rona…" Mako responded uncertainly.

"You mean Meriona." Korra said, angrily crossing her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Meriona sighed. "Look I know I've kept secrets from you guys but you're my friends and I know I owe you an explanation."

"Yeah, you do." Mako said sternly.

"Growing up, my life was very different to other people. I didn't want anyone to give me anything just because of who my family was. So I left, travelled a bit. I wanted to know I could do things on my own."

Korra sighed and slowly uncrossed her arms. "Trust me I understand that more than anyone." She said more gently. "But why didn't you tell us later?"

"Well I'm guessing you've figured out my dad didn't know I was back, and I've kinda been avoiding him as much as I can. Guess I was worried telling you guys would mean I'd have to face him."

"But why wouldn't you tell him you're back?" Asami asked.

"Because he's the reason I left."

"What? Why?" Korra asked.

"Only non-bender in an airbending family?" Meriona explained. "Wasn't exactly easy. He didn't accept it well."

Meriona could see the understanding in the eyes of her friends. Most people felt sorry for her not being able to airbend, it was one of her reasons for leaving. She didn't need anyone's pity but she was grateful for her friends' acceptance.

"I know I haven't been completely honest with you guys but I swear no aspect of our friendship has been a lie and I really don't want this to be the end of it.

"Of course it's not the end." Korra said. "I understand why you felt you couldn't tell us. But I still don't get why you haven't gone to see Tenzin since the attack."

"I'm not ready to face him yet. I didn't really leave on good terms." Meriona could see Korra ready to argue back. "Look I know you mean well, but me and my dad, there's a lot going on there. I promise I'll speak with him when I'm ready."

Korra nodded in acceptance and the attic fell into a silence.

"Well, now that we've sorted that, I was just about to invite Korra to visit us at my estate tomorrow." Asami said, finally breaking the silence. "Why don't you come to Rona?"

Meriona turned to Korra who was shooting her a pleading look, obviously asking her to come too. Smiling Meriona turned back to Asami.

"I would love that, thank you."

*********************************************************

After smoothing things over with the guys, Meriona headed back to the Equalist base. As she entered the facility Meriona looked around to see everybody busy packing boxes and loading trucks. She frowned as she looked around. She hadn't been informed about any upcoming job. What was happening here?

"Meriona."

Looking up, she saw Amon standing over the balcony. Walking up the stairs, she stood next to him, watching as trucks were loaded with posters and gloves.

"Where is it all going?" She asked calmly.

"It's being placed in a disused Cabbage Corp factory to set them up as Equalists. I want you to feed the forged intel to Beifong." He informed as he handed Meriona the intel.

"Why?" Meriona frowned. Why was he going after them? They weren't benders.

"Ever since we revealed our electric gloves, the police have started an investigation into who our engineer is. By framing Cabbage Corp, we can buy ourselves some time." Amon looked over to see Meriona continuing to frown. "I know you will be upset about involving them but it won't be for long. Soon we will strike."

Meriona's eyes widened at that. "How soon?"

"Don't worry Meriona. Our time is coming." He said as he walked away.

Meriona frowned as Amon walked away before continuing to oversee the trucks get loaded. Amon was very careful not to reveal his true plan to anyone and it was infuriating. How was she supposed to do anything to help when she didn't know what the full plan was?

*********************************************************

Meriona watched guiltily as Gan-Lan was arrested by Beifong and his corporation closed. She stood in the shadows watching when she felt a figure coming up behind her.

"Amon wants to see you."

"Again?" Meriona asked coldly as she continued to stare at the crime scene.

"You got a problem?" The Lieutenant questioned.

"Our war is against benders. It feels wrong to incriminate non-benders." She stated.

"It wouldn't be feasible to do it to benders."

"Doesn't make it right." She said, pushing off the wall and walking back to the base.

Entering the base, Meriona headed straight to Amon's office. Without hesitating, she walked straight through the door to see Amon talking with another figure.

"Ah Meriona. Glad you're here. I think it's time you met the engineer behind all our success." Amon greeted. "Meriona. Hiroshi Sato."

Meriona's eyes widened in shock as Sato turned to greet her. Asami's father was the engineer? But his daughter was so sweet and caring.

"I can see your surprise my dear." Sato remarked. "Trust me, I have my reasons for working with you."

"Does Asami know?" Meriona asked.

"No." Hiroshi said swiftly.

"Mr Sato did not want his identity revealed to anyone unless it was necessary, but he has asked a favour of us." Looking back to Sato, Meriona saw him nod firmly. "You are aware that Asami has entered a relationship with the probender Mako."

"Yes, sir."

"It has made Mr Sato extremely uncomfortable." Amon stated.

"It makes me sick to see my baby girl traipse around with bending scum like him." Sato spat.

Meriona almost flinched at his severe words. Mako was a kind, good man and Sato was ruling him out so harshly just because he was a bender. It was atrocious.

"So from now on you will be acting as a somewhat bodyguard to Asami. Try and keep an eye on her as she spends more time with the benders." Meriona turned back to Amon in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. "I have been informed that the benders are now living at the Sato mansion."

"As have I. In fact I have been invited to the house later today."

"Perfect. You have your assignment. Now leave us."

Meriona nodded stiffly and left the room quickly, but not before looking back to see Sato and Amon reengage in deep conversation. She frowned as she left the room. She had never expected Hiroshi to be the one behind all their funding, their equipment, their weapons. He had seemed like such a good man, sponsoring the Fire Ferrets. It was clear now that it was all just a front to keep his true agenda hidden.

Meriona made a decision there and then that she was going to reveal Hiroshi as the treacherous snake she knew him to be. With that in mind, she headed to the Sato mansion to meet with the others.

*********************************************************

Meriona arrived at the mansion to be left with a message to meet the others at a driving course. She couldn't blame them for leaving without her. She was late due to her unscheduled meeting with Amon.

Getting a lift, Meriona arrived to see Korra and Asami racing around the track with Mako and Bolin cheering them on. Meriona smiled as she went to join them.

"Hey guys. What are they doing?" She asked.

"Hey Rona." Bolin greeted joyfully. "They're testing out the new Satomobiles by racing. Haha!" He laughed. "GO ASAMI! GO KORRA!"

Meriona laughed at Bolin's antics before turning to Mako, whose mood had noticeably soured since she arrived. Meriona thought she knew why.

"Are you still mad with me?" She asked.

"You lied to us." Mako said exasperated, turning to face her. "You've lied to us for weeks."

"I didn't lie." Meriona defended. "I just didn't tell you who my family is."

"Whatever. You still didn't tell us who you really are." He accused.

"I didn't have to!" She shouted.

"Didn't have to?!" He exclaimed.

"I have been myself with you guys the entire time! Who my parents are doesn't change that!" She argued. "You're not being fair!"

Mako sighed as his expression softened. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just … I guess I felt hurt you didn't think you could tell us."

Meriona smiled in understanding. "It's not that. I knew I could tell you guys. The reason I didn't tell you was because I wasn't ready. I do trust you."

Mako finally smiled and turned back to her. "Glad to hear it."

Looking back over to the track Meriona saw Asami and Korra quickly overtake their opponent and cross the finish line first. Meriona laughed as she saw Korra and Asami celebrating together. It was good to see them getting along instead of Korra feeling awkward.

*********************************************************

After heading back to Asami's mansion, Bolin and Korra quickly headed to the toilets. Meriona and Asami laughed as Bolin raced away while Mako held his head in embarrassment.

"Hey Asami, thanks for inviting me today. I had a great time. It was really good to spend some time with you." Meriona thanked.

"You too." Asami said happily. "Hey why don't you come round again tomorrow? You didn't get much of a chance to see the house."

Before Meriona could respond, Korra came rushing down the stairs, running straight for the door, leaving Asami in shock.

"You're leaving? But I-I thought-"

"Sorry, I forgot I'm supposed to airsit, I mean babybend, I-I mean babysit the airbender kids." Korra stammered as she headed out of the door. "See you later."

Meriona frowned at the disappearing figure. Something was wrong.

"I better head off too." Meriona said, ready to follow the Avatar. As she reached the door, she turned back and smiled. "But I would love to see you again tomorrow Asami."

Asami gave her one parting smile, before Meriona left to chase after Korra. Something had happened while Korra had been upstairs, and if it was anything to do with Hiroshi, Meriona wanted to help.

Meriona followed Korra as far as Air Temple Island before she decided not to go any further. She wasn't quite ready to meet with Tenzin.

*********************************************************

Meriona ran over the rooftops, leaping from building to building. Her contact on Air Temple Island had overheard Tenzin and Korra planning a meeting with Beifong that night. Meriona had no doubt it was to do with what Korra had found at Asami's house.

Coming up on the meeting place, Meriona threw herself off the final skyscraper onto the smaller building beyond it, rolling out of her jump as she landed. Spotting Tenzin and Korra walking up to Beifong, Meriona decided to get closer by sliding down a pipe onto a balcony on a lower level. Now in earshot, Meriona listened in to their conversation.

"So you think Mr. Sato manufactured those gloves for the Equalists, then framed Cabbage Corp?" Tenzin asked.

Meriona smirked as she realised Korra must have seen or heard something at the mansion to link Hiroshi to the Equalists.

"That's a bold accusation, but what proof do you have?" Beifong questioned.

"Well I don't exactly have proof, but I know what I heard. Sato's up to something." Korra stated boldly.

"He does have the means... and he has a motive." Beifong realised.

"That's right." Tenzin agreed.

Meriona frowned. Motive?

"A motive? What is it?" Korra demanded, asking Meriona's question for her.

"Twelve years ago, the Agni Kai Triad robbed Sato's mansion. A firebender killed Sato's wife during the break-in." Tenzin explained sadly.

Meriona sympathised with Hiroshi over the death of his wife, understanding why he would have a vendetta. But still, it was a triad that was responsible, not benders in general.

"That's terrible." Korra remarked.

"It was tragic. It's possible he's been harbouring anti-bending sentiment all this time."

"Maybe we should look at Mr. Sato a little more closely." Beifong suggested.

Meriona smiled at that. She didn't even need to implicate any blame. With the seeds of doubt already planted, she just had to ensure there was some evidence for them to find.

*********************************************************

Unfortunately, they didn't leave her much time to do so. The next day, while Meriona was talking with Asami, they confronted Hiroshi in his office. Despite their best efforts, the searches in Hiroshi's offices and factories provided no evidence for Hiroshi being an Equalist. All it did was create a large strain on Korra's friendship with Asami and Mako.

Deciding she needed to strike while the investigation was ongoing, Meriona left Mako and Asami to speak with Hiroshi privately.

"Good job, Sato." She remarked, striding into his office.

"There is no problem here." Hiroshi protested. "I have not been so foolish as to have any of the company's factories used to develop the equipment."

"And yet you were foolish enough to let the Avatar overhear you speaking with Amon." Meriona scolded.

"A minor mishap."

"Regardless. I would advise you prepare all your equipment for transportation to a more secure base."

With that, Meriona left the room. However, when she left, she quickly hid herself next to the door. From her hiding place she could hear Hiroshi's conversation as he called Amon.

"Amon. Meriona has suggested I move my equipment to somewhere safer – Yes, I understand she has a point but the main factory is under my house, how am I supposed to move it all? – I understand we can't risk the new weapons being discovered. – Ok, as long as the tunnel is complete, we will move it tomorrow."

Meriona smiled to herself. There was a factory underneath the mansion, now all she had to do was give Korra the intel. Meriona knew of an ex member of the Equalists who quit after deciding he didn't want to take part in the war. She could use him to get the intel to Korra.

*********************************************************

Later that night, Meriona met with her contact under the Silk Road Bridge.

"So, is it done?"

"I have organised to meet the Avatar here at midnight."

"Well done. If we bring down Hiroshi we are one step closer to ending this war." Meriona explained. "But you must remember, you are the one who came across this intel. No one can know about me."

"Understood."

Meriona quickly looked around when she heard voices coming towards them. Quickly, she launched herself off the side of the bridge and into the metal braces above them.

Meriona watched as Korra, Tenzin, and Lin walked beneath the metal structure, before stopping when they heard a low hiss.

"Psst! Over here." Meriona's contact said, stepping out from behind a metal beam as the others approached. "Listen. I joined the Equalists because I believed in what Amon said. I thought he could make life better for us non-benders. But I didn't sign up for this, this war."

"What do you have on Hiroshi Sato?" Beifong questioned.

"He manufactured those gloves for the Equalists." He explained.

"I knew it." Korra cried confidently.

"And there are rumours he's working on something even bigger. Some new kind of weapon." He continued.

"We searched all of Future Industries and found nothing." Tenzin said, confused.

"That's because he has a secret factory."

"Where?" Korra asked.

"It's right underneath the Sato mansion."

Meriona smiled from up in the braces. With this new information, Hiroshi would not have time to move his equipment and he would be caught.

*********************************************************

Meriona met with Amon later that night. He wanted to debrief about the investigations into Future Industries.

"It seems that the police have found no evidence of Hiroshi's true loyalties." Meriona explained. "They have conducted extensive searches into all of his offices and factories to no avail. Hiroshi has been successful in covering up any evidence."

"And I hear you suggested Hiroshi move his equipment?"

"Yes. We have tunnels through which he can successfully move it and then we can remove any links at all to him. Just as a precaution."

"You think we need to?" Amon questioned.

"They may have found no evidence but I know the Avatar. She will not give in so easily."

"Wisely spoken." Amon praised. "Now get back to Asami."

Meriona nodded and headed over to Asami's house. Asami was about to have an awful day, and as much as Amon was ordering her to be there, Meriona was going to support her friend.

*********************************************************

Meriona went to join Asami, Mako and Bolin for dinner. Both Mako and Asami were still furious with Korra.

"I still can't believe what Korra was saying about Hiroshi." Mako fumed.

"I know!" Asami agreed. "Even when they found no evidence, Korra still refuses to drop it."

Meriona felt very guilty, knowing full well that Korra was completely correct in her accusation.

"What do you think Rona?" Mako asked.

"I think, I think –" Meriona paused. "I think we all know Korra. We all know she would never intentionally hurt her friends. For whatever reason she's doing this, I think she believes there is a good reason."

Bolin nodded, whereas her response only mildly calmed Asami.

"Still doesn't make her accusations right."

Suddenly, the doors burst open and a team of Metalbenders rushed in, all of them ready in bending stances. As they fanned out across the room, Lin and Tenzin entered the room.

Meriona cursed to herself. She hadn't even thought about Tenzin being at the mansion. It was obvious that Tenzin hadn't expected to see her there either.

"Meriona?" He said shocked.

"Hey dad." Meriona breathed nervously.

"Save your family reunion for later." Beifong interrupted, and Meriona couldn't be more grateful.

"What are you doing here?" Asami asked, outraged.

"We have reason to believe there is a factory hidden beneath the mansion." Beifong stated.

"I think I would have noticed if there were a factory underneath my house!" Asami defended. "The lies you people come up with just to persecute my father."

"Where is your father?" Beifong asked.

"In his workshop, behind the house."

As they headed out to his workshop, Tenzin walked up alongside Meriona.

"Meriona. We need to talk." He said firmly.

"Not really the time dad." Meriona stated coldly.

"Well you've had months to come speak to me and you haven't." He scolded.

"Ever think there was a reason?" She retorted, attempting to walk faster.

Suddenly Tenzin's hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her to a standstill. "Whatever the reason, we need to speak about it."

Meriona looked at Tenzin to see a stern look on his face. She sighed.

"I know we do, but now isn't the time. Right now, my friend needs me."

With that, Meriona pulled away and walked to be with Mako, Bolin and Asami.

"You ok?" Mako asked gently.

"I will be." Meriona replied. "But let's focus on Asami."

Entering the workshop, they saw plenty of junk and tools lying around, but the room was empty.

"Dad? Hello?" Asami called out.

"Chief, the estate's been secured. No one has left the workshop since we arrived." An officer informed Beifong.

"Perhaps we just couldn't see him leaving." Beifong said walking into the centre of the room before she raised her leg tight and slammed it on the floor. "There's a tunnel beneath the workshop, running deep into the mountain side."

"What?" Asami said in surprise. "There's no tunnel."

Beifong promptly ripped a metal square out of the floor with a wave of both arms revealing a dark tunnel with an industrial elevator just below a flight of metal stairs. Meriona glanced around the room to see Asami looking crushed, while the brothers looked in shock. Korra simply stared grimly, knowing her assumptions had been correct.

"Do you think your dad knows about this tunnel?" Bolin asked hesitantly.

"I don't understand. There must be an explanation" Asami said sadly.

Korra turned sadly to Asami. "Maybe you don't know everything about your father. I'm sorry."

"Officers, into the tunnel. Be cautious." Beifong ordered before turning to Meriona, Asami and the brothers. "Uh-uh. You four stay up here. Officer Song, keep an eye on them."

Officer Song saluted while Beifong and her Metalbenders entered the tunnels. Tenzin looked back once more the Meriona before following into the tunnels. Korra looked back at her friends, but Mako couldn't hold her gaze. Meriona smiled sadly and nodded before Korra entered the tunnels.

Meriona turned to Asami and gave her a small hug. "I'm so sorry Asami."

And then they just waited, silently comforting their friend.

Moments later, they were all staring down into the tunnel when they heard a large booming sound. Meriona frowned. Something was wrong. It wasn't the simple arrest she had been expecting.

"What was that?" Bolin asked hesitantly.

"We need to get down there and see what's going on." Mako said determinedly.

"Absolutely not." The officer ordered. "You're staying put until the chief comes back."

Meriona watched as the two brothers shared a look and nodded to each other. Meriona smirked as she recognised they had a plan.

"Alright, we'll stay put. But can we wait outside or something? It's so dusty in this workshop." Mako said, rubbing his nose, almost smiling.

"No. We're waiting right here." The officer responded.

"Okay, but don't blame me if I start snee... if I start snee... if I start..." Meriona found it hard to contain her laughter as Mako pretended he was going to sneeze.

"What's your problem, bub?" he officer asked.

"I'm about to…"

Suddenly, Mako leant back as if to sneeze, before throwing himself forward and spitting out a massive flare of fire that sets Officer Song stumbling backwards. Bolin raised his foot, creating a small square pillar out of the ground just behind Song causing him to trip and fall on his stomach. The brothers quickly rushed over and body-slammed right on top of Song, pinning him down.

After they tied and gagged Song, Bolin and Mako prepared to go into the tunnel. As Asami prepared to follow, Mako placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Asami, you should stay here. We'll check it out." Mako suggested.

"I have to find out the truth about my father." Asami replied determinedly.

"I understand. That's why I'm going down; to find out for you. Please."

"I'll stay up here with you." Meriona suggested.

"All right." Asami agreed. "Be careful."

Meriona held Asami's hand as the brothers entered the tunnel. Meriona wanted to follow with them, but she wanted to be there for Asami.

"It'll be alright Asami." She comforted. "Regardless of the outcome, know we will all be here for you."

"Thank you, Meriona."

They stood in silence for a few more seconds before Meriona glanced over to see Asami's determined expression, staring at the hole.

"You're going after them, aren't you?" Meriona stated.

"I have to know."

Meriona turned and smiled kindly to her. "Let's go then."

After they took the elevator down, Asami and Meriona entered a large factory with large banners of Amon decorating the walls. Looking around, Meriona spotted several armed mechatanks guarding masked men as they loaded unconscious metalbenders into trucks.

Meriona frantically looked around for her father. Although they did not get on, he was family and she loved him. She couldn't bear it if something happened to him. She sighed in relief as she finally spotted him on the back of Bolin as he and Mako attempted to rescue Tenzin, Korra and Beifong. Unfortunately, they had been spotted.

"Not so fast, boys." Hiroshi announced.

"Hello, Mr. Sato." Bolin spoke awkwardly, gesturing with Tenzin's arms. "Wow. What a really, swell, scary, factory you have here under your giant mansion."

"Sponsoring our team, supporting the Avatar." Mako said icily. "It was all just a big cover."

"Yes." Hiroshi agreed. "And the most difficult part was watching my daughter traipse around with a Firebending streetrat like you!"

Meriona frowned on hearing his hatred once more. As she watched Hiroshi prepare another shock through his gloves, Meriona turned to Asami only to find she had already gone. Turning back to Hiroshi, Meriona watched as Asami confronted her father.

"Dad, stop!" She shouted before looking at her father sadly. "Why?"

"Sweetie, I wanted to keep you out of this for as long as I could, but now that you know the truth, please, forgive me. These people, these benders... They took away your mother, the love of my life. They've ruined the world!"

As Hiroshi spoke, Meriona watched in hiding, conflicted about what to do. She wanted to go help the brothers but then her position with the Equalists would be at risk.

"But with Amon we can fix it, and build a perfect world together. We can help people like us everywhere. Join me, Asami."

Meriona watched, shocked as Asami accepted the glove Hiroshi was offering. Asami was joining them? She was such a caring person, or was that all an act?She looked to Mako who was looking distraught over Asami's decision.

"I love you, Dad." Asami said sadly.

Then Asami suddenly shoved her gloved hand against Hiroshi's chest, hitting him with a massive burst of electricity. Meriona smiled. She should never have doubted Asami's character. Meriona watched nervously as the Lieutenant rushed over and tried to attack Asami with his sticks, but Asami diverted his first blow with a high kick before grabbing his wrist, twisting him around and shocking him with the glove. Meriona smirked as the Lieutenant collapsed to the ground with a scream of his own. She had been waiting for him to get it for a while.

Meriona noticed as other mechatanks turned after hearing the commotion. Deciding it was time to take action, she stormed out of her hiding place to help the brothers carry Beifong.

"Come on guys!" Meriona shouted. "We've got to get out of here!"

The group quickly followed Meriona into a run. Bolin made a hole and they all jumped in, escaping just as the mechatanks engaged in combat.

The raid had not happened as planned, Hiroshi had been expecting them. Someone had warned him. Meriona knew that her contact was safe, she had helped him flee the city. The only other explanation was that there was a mole within the police department. The list of people Meriona could trust was getting shorter by the minute.

*********************************************************

Having safely escaped to the Metalbender airship, Meriona stood over her father as he slowly woke up.

"Meriona?" He asked weakly.

"Hi dad." She greeted before turning to look out the window with arms crossed.

"What happened?" He asked, slowly sitting up, clutching his chest.

"Seems I saved you again." Meriona responded curtly.

There was a small silence as they attempted to figure out what to say next.

"Are you going to run off this time?" Tenzin asked fearfully.

Meriona looked back to see her father staring worriedly at her. She took in the cuts and bruises and her expression softened. She had kept away from him when she first returned because she wasn't ready to face him. Then after joining the Equalists, it was because she wanted to keep him safe. But now, seeing him so injured before her, she knew he wasn't going to be any safer without her. She sighed. It was too dangerous to delay anything anymore.

"No." She said confidently. "There are things we need to talk about."

*********************************************************

Author's note - Please review, they make me happy :)


	9. 1x08 When Extremes Meet

Disclaimer - I do not own Avatar Legend of Aang/Korra or any of its characters and storylines. I am only responsible for my OCs and any variation from the original story arc.

Author's note - So sorry for the delay! Didn't have as much time as I originally hoped for.

***********************************************

When Extremes Meet

Meriona stood with Korra and her siblings as they watched Bolin, Mako and Asami sail to Air Temple Island. It had been a day since Hiroshi's true loyalties had been revealed, and Meriona had had to deal with the fallout, both with Amon and Tenzin.

***********************************************

Once the airship landed on Air Temple Island, Meriona followed as the air acolytes helped to carry Tenzin inside. As she watched them take him to his room, she heard a voice call out behind her.

"Meriona?!"

Turning around, Meriona saw Pema standing at the end of the corridor. Instantly, Meriona took off in a run, heading straight for her mother, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"Mum!"

"Oh sweetie, I've missed you!" Pema said as she tightly squeezed Meriona, despite her pregnant belly.

"I've missed you too mum."

Slowly the two released each other as Pema looked over her daughter.

"You've grown." Pema noticed, tucking a strand of hair behind Meriona's ear. "Where have you been all this time hm? Your letters stopped two years ago."

"I warned you they would. There was stuff I had to do." Meriona explained before hesitating slightly. "Did you tell dad about the letters?"

"Yes." Pema sighed and looked down. "He was worried sick after you left. Furious, yes, but worried. It wasn't fair not to tell him."

Meriona sighed and looked at her feet. She can't imagine her father would be particularly happy she was sending letters to her mum and not him.

"Meriona."

Meriona looked up to see her mother's firm gaze.

"How long have you been back?" Pema asked.

Meriona cringed at the question. She didn't want to tell them about the Equalists, it was too dangerous. But she didn't want to lie either.

"It doesn't matter mum. Just know that I'm back and I don't plan on leaving." Meriona replied strongly.

"But why –" Pema was cut off as an acolyte left Tenzin's room.

"Excuse me but he's asking for you." Meriona made to leave her mum to it when the acolyte called out to her. "Both of you."

Meriona clenched her fists. It was finally time, no more delaying. Sensing her trepidation, Pema gently took her daughter's hand, and together they entered the room.

Meriona walked in slowly to see her father sitting upright in bed, a firm frown fixed on his face.

"You owe us an explanation young lady." He said sternly.

"Nice to see you too, dad." Meriona replied sarcastically as she watched her mother sit down on the bed.

"We've had months for pleasantries but you decided not to see us." Tenzin responded angrily. "Four years! Four years you've been gone Meriona, leaving without warning. I know you spoke briefly with your mother but do you not believe that you would owe your father any sense of loyalty?!" Tenzin ranted.

"I don't owe you anything!" Meriona fought back. Her mum understood why she left, why couldn't her dad? He didn't even seem happy that she was back.

"Do you find it that surprising that I left? The years of pointless airbending training, hiding me away by getting me to study all the scrolls. I wasn't an airbender and you could never accept it! Face it, I was just a big disappointment to you!"

"I never kept you hidden! I kept you educated. Any daughter would be thankful." Tenzin denied.

"So what if I did disappear? Didn't matter to you, you hardly ever spoke to me when I was here!" Meriona continued. "You didn't even try to come after me. Guess Republic City came first."

"I have a responsibility to this city! I have to put the needs of others above my own." Tenzin argued. "Besides, from the sounds of it, you wouldn't have wanted me to come after you anyway."

"Would you have brought me back?" Meriona questioned.

"Of course."

"Then you don't understand why I left!" Meriona yelled, exasperated.

Tenzin went to try and fight back but Meriona stopped him. "Look, I didn't come here to get yelled at but obviously we're not going anywhere. I don't know why I thought anything would have changed."

"That's not -" Tenzin tried to intervene.

"But you should know that I don't regret what I did. I needed to leave and it's made me who I am." Meriona continued. "But I don't plan on leaving again. I want to see my brother and sisters and I won't let us interfere with that."

Meriona walked towards the door as her father tried to call after her.

"We haven't finished speaking about this Meriona!" He warned.

As Meriona reached the door, she turned back to face him. "Until you understand the reasons that I left, we have nothing more to talk about."

***********************************************

And she hadn't spoken with him since. Her mother had helped set up her old room and it felt familiarly comfortable. She was grateful that Pema didn't ask her anymore questions about her time away but she could tell she was desperate to. Her mother had always known her well and it seemed she still did, recognising that she wasn't ready to talk about her time away. Meriona knew she would have to eventually but for now, her mother was giving her some space, knowing forcing her to talk wouldn't get them anywhere.

She also had an opportunity to spend some time with her siblings. Jinora and Ikki had hardly changed and despite the four years apart, they both remembered her clearly. Both had grown but their kind and caring, playful natures were unchanged. Meelo had only been one when she left but Meriona could feel an instant connection with him. Meelo too, had no doubt Meriona was his sister, faintly remembering the lullabies she used to sing to him.

Meriona had a great time with the kids, feeling like she had never been gone. It was a welcome change from Tenzin. Meriona had hoped that he wouldn't have been so firm with her. She could understand his anger, she'd been gone for 4 years but he didn't even attempt to see her side, to accept even the slightest part of responsibility in her leaving.

And to make matters worse, Amon wasn't too pleased with her actions in Hiroshi's mansion.

***********************************************

"Our plan was to capture the Avatar! And you helped her escape!" Amon chastised.

"Well maybe if I had been informed on the plan I would have known how to respond!" Meriona yelled. "I was caught in a bad situation and had to make a judgment. From my position, after Hiroshi let his guard down around his daughter, I believed the Avatar would have escape with or without my help, and after Korra finding out who I am, I didn't want to risk my position with her any more than I had!"

"I can just about accept that, but you should never have allowed Asami into that factory!"

"Again, if you had trusted me with the information that there was a factory down there and your plan to ambush the police, I wouldn't have." Meriona argued. "I believed that they were going to conduct a simple arrest. I didn't even know about the new machinery until I was down there!"

"Our endgame is coming Meriona, we can't afford any mistakes."

"Which is why you should keep me more informed. I have the same goals as you but if I keep unintentionally getting in the way, we're never going to reach them."

"Ok." Amon finally accepted. "I will aim to keep you more informed on matters that include you. Now that Hiroshi's loyalties have been revealed, there is no need to keep more secrets from you."

***********************************************

At least that had been one upside. Hopefully Amon would inform her more of his endgame plans. But now she couldn't afford to test Amon's faith in her, she had made too many mistakes. Meriona needed to do something to strengthen Amon's trust in her.

Meriona had also been upset to hear that Beifong had resigned as Chief of Police after the capture of her soldiers. It meant that Saikhan was being inducted in as Chief and he wasn't as strong as Beifong, Tarrlok would get to him easily.

Meriona thoughts were interrupted as she felt someone pulling on her trousers. She looked down and smiled.

"You ok Meelo?" Meriona giggled.

"They are your friends?" He asked, pointing at the incoming boat.

"Yees."

"And Korra's?" He continued.

"Uh huh." She nodded.

"Can they be mine?" He asked innocently.

"Of course they can." Meriona said, giggling at her brother's cuteness.

"You're finally here!" Ikki squeaked excitedly as the boat sailed into the port. "Welcome to Air Temple Island. Your new home."

"Yes, welcome to my domain." Meelo welcomed, pointing to himself.

Meriona smiled as Bolin descended the ramp before he approached Meelo. "Well, aren't you sweet, little monk child."

Suddenly Pabu jumped down from Bolin's shoulder and ran through Meelo's legs. Meriona giggled as Meelo bent over and looked through his legs at Pabu before pointing after him.

"What's that fuzzy creature?" He asked inquisitively.

"That is a fire ferret." Jinora aided. "An arboreal mammal common to the bamboo forest of the central Earth Kingdom."

"He's cuuuute!" Ikki squealed, jumping out from behind Jinora and chasing after Pabu.

Meriona and Bolin laughed at the sisters' actions, seeing Jinora obviously irritated by Ikki's high pitched yelping. Meelo seeing Ikki playing with Pabu encouraged him to run after Naga to play with her.

"You seem to have fit back in quite well." Bolin stated after noticing Meriona's smile.

"With them, yes. With dad…" Meriona sighed. "Still got a while to go."

"But why –"

"Thanks for sending the Air Acolytes to help us with the move."

Meriona turned back to see Mako and Asami walking down the ramp.

"Yes, they've been amazing." Asami noted. "Such tireless workers."

Following Asami's gaze up the ramp, Meriona watched as two Air Acolytes carried down a large stack of cases.

"Oh, I thought you were only bringing a few things." Korra said, wincing as she watched the acolytes carry the heavy weight.

"Trust me." Mako smirked. "It could've been worse."

"No problem." Korra said kindly. "Everyone here wants you guys to feel welcome."

As the group headed up to the Temple, Mako walked up next to Meriona.

"So Bolin said it didn't go so well with your dad." He remarked.

"Nope."

"You okay?"

"I was kind of hoping we would be able to talk but all we did was yell." Meriona explained. "But maybe in some time we can try again. For now, I'm fine with my mum, I'm fine with my siblings, so yeah I'm okay."

Meriona and Mako smiled at each other before Meriona spotted something over Mako's shoulder. As she pointed, Mako turned to see Meelo looking lovingly up at Asami.

"You're pretty, can I have some of your hair?" Meelo requested innocently.

Mako and Meriona laughed.

"Looks like you have some competition." Meriona remarked.

***********************************************

Meriona left Asami and the brothers as they settled in and went to meet with Amon.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked as she entered his office.

"Our endgame is coming. The time where our battle will reach its climax." Amon explained. "I need to know those closest to me are completely loyal."

Meriona sighed internally. The peak of Amon's plan was coming and she would need to know what he was preparing if she would be any help in stopping him. She knew whatever he intended, she would have to do if she wanted to keep his trust.

"What do you want me to do?"

***********************************************

Korra stood beside Tenzin as they waited for Saikhan to be inducted as Chief. She had been desperate to talk to him about Rona ever since she had learnt she was his daughter, but Tenzin had refused to talk about it. Well, Korra was nothing if not perseverant.

"Sooo…." Korra began. "I hear you've spoken with Rona."

Tenzin stiffened suddenly. "It is hardly any of your business whether or not I have spoken with Meriona."

"I don't get it." Korra admitted. "You get along so well with your other children, how have you become so strained with Rona?"

"It is between myself and my daughter." Tenzin argued.

"Look, I heard you arguing with her last night. Pema seems to be alright with her." Korra continued. "Why are you so mad at her?"

Tenzin sighed sadly. "She left me." He whispered softy.

Before Korra could continue, she was interrupted as Saikhan's induction began.

***********************************************

Meriona ate her dinner alone at Air Temple Island, thinking over Amon's plan. He wanted her to break out two of his generals who had been captured by Tarrlok's task force a few weeks earlier at the training facility. It was the last thing she wanted to do but it was her last chance to cement Amon's faith in her.

As she was preparing to leave, she heard a knock at her door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Mako"

"Come on in."

"He Rona, you haven't seen Korra have you?" Mako asked from the doorway. "She didn't come in for dinner."

"No. I haven't." Meriona frowned. She had seen Korra come back from Saikhan's induction and she had looked miserable. Something had happened but Meriona had left Korra her space to work it out.

"But I've got a feeling where she might be."

***********************************************

Meriona, Mako, Bolin and Asami searched the area of the island overlooking Aang's statue.

"What makes you think she'll be here?" Mako asked.

"I used to come here a lot to think when I was having problems at home." Meriona explained. "Figured since we both had problems with airbending, Korra might come here too."

Mako looked and Meriona softly as she explained her thinking. He could only imagine how much pressure she would have had and at such a young age. He could see how busy Pema was kept with all her children and had heard how Tenzin had isolated himself from Meriona. Who would she have had to talk to?

Before he could respond, Bolin found Korra. As they emerged from the bushes, Meriona could recognise the look on Korra's face. It was a look she had often had when she felt isolated from the world.

"You okay?" Meriona asked gently.

"I'm fine." Korra replied, trying to act normal. No one bought it.

"Come on, what's wrong? You can tell us." Mako persisted.

"How am I supposed to save this city when I can't even learn airbending?" Korra explained. "I'm the worst Avatar ever! I just feel ... alone."

"No, that's nonsense! You're amazing!" Asami defended.

"And between you and me…" Meriona comforted. "…airbending is overrated anyway."

Korra glanced at her with a weak but grateful smile.

"So you can't airbend yet, who cares?" Meriona continued. "You are still an amazing fire, earth and waterbender!"

"Yeah and remember. Aang hadn't mastered all the elements when he was battling the Fire Nation." Mako supported. "He was just a little kid."

"And he wasn't alone. He had his friends to help him." Bolin added. "Look, the arena might be shut down but we're still a team. The new Team Avatar!"

"We've got your back Korra." Meriona said determinedly.

"And we can save this city!" Mako continued. "Together!"

Their joint efforts had an obvious effect on Korra's mood, as she stood up, encouraged.

"Yeah, let's do it!" She exclaimed.

***********************************************

Meriona's spirits had lifted dramatically since her conversation with Korra, but her mood soon soured once she realised it was very likely she would have to fight them later that night. She had unknowingly helped to encourage her friends to start patrolling the city the night she had to oversee a breakout. Nice one Rona.

Luckily she didn't need to think of an excuse as to why she wouldn't patrol with them that night as there weren't enough seats in Asami's car anyway.

Once she saw the group set off, she raced to the police headquarters where the generals were being kept. Meeting her team, they set up for the jailbreak. Using grappling hooks, Meriona and two other Equalists scaled the side of the building, sneaking in through windows on the higher levels. Signalling to the others on the ground, she watched as they stormed the building.

Her plan was a simple one. The generals captured had the tightest security guarding them. Getting to them would be simple enough but getting them out would be harder. The only way to get past the security was by being unpredictable.

The Equalists had plenty of new recruits, eager to be part of the action but not so important that their capture would damage their cause. Meriona's plan was for the new recruits to storm the front doors where the majority of the security would be focused. Once the recruits freed the generals, they would send them upstairs to meet her. While the recruits draw the police's attention away from the building and trick them into thinking that they are escaping with the generals, Meriona would hide on the upper levels, where no one would think to look.

It was very likely that the recruits would get captured, especially if Korra was patrolling but by waiting, Meriona could wait for the majority of the police forces to be occupied before scaling back down the building with the generals and escaping separately.

Her plan worked perfectly. She watched from the window as an army of police chased after the ground team. No one patrolled the upper levels as no one expected the convicts to escape from the top of the building. When they scaled back down the building, only a few officers remained to stop them from escaping. With some quick chi blocking, they were easily incapacitated and Meriona escaped with ease.

It worried her how easy it was to trick the police force, it was certainly easier than it had been in the past. Chief Saikhan wasn't remotely in Chief Beifong's league.

***********************************************

Amon was extremely pleased with her efforts. He cared little for the ones captured, he was just pleased to see that his generals had escaped safely. Meriona reported that Korra had planned to patrol the streets from then on, determined to fight the Equalists. She made her case that, since she had not been present to help stop the breakout, she should be available to patrol the next night.

With his trust restored in her, Amon agreed completely.

***********************************************

Meriona had been furious to learn about Tarrlok's new law. Not allowing non benders out past a curfew? He was creating an even larger gap between benders and non-benders.

She had learnt from Korra that her father had been the only one to disagree with the new law and that all the other council members had agreed to it. They were unknowingly doing exactly what Amon wanted. They had let their fear control them until they started to turn themselves into the enemies of non-benders.

"Are you sure you guys want to patrol tonight?" Mako asked Asami and Meriona as they prepared to leave the island. "You guys are non-benders, you could get into trouble with Tarrlok."

Asami and Meriona shared a look before smirking confidently.

"I'd like to see him try." Meriona said confidently. "After all, you did go to all that trouble to make room for me in the car." She continued, climbing into the newly renovated back seat.

As they got ready they heard an announcement over the radio.

"All available units, please respond to the fifty six hundred block of Dragon Flats borough. Equalists have taken to the streets, consider them armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution."

Meriona frowned. There had been no plans for an attack that night and there was no reason to attack that area, it was civilian. Amon had agreed to keep her completely in the loop and had not informed her of any new developments.

As they drove to the Dragon Flats borough, they noticed police airships circling around an area plunged in darkness.

"Why is the power out?" Korra frowned.

As they turned the corner, they looked on in shock at hundreds of non-benders protesting at the metalbending police officers who were holding them behind a blockade.

"Wait a second, these people aren't armed or dangerous." Asami said, confused.

"Sure doesn't look that way." Meriona remarked.

Meriona watched on, appalled as the police attempted to get the people to return to their houses, on threats of arrest. She looked on sadly at the scared children hidden within the angry crowd. Suddenly, a mother called out to Korra as her children clung to her skirt.

"Please, help us! You're our Avatar, too!"

Meriona watched proudly as Korra strode forward towards the crowd. "Everyone, please stay calm. I'm gonna put a stop to this."

Smiling comfortingly at the mother and nodding, Meriona followed after Korra as she went to confront Tarrlok. Sadly it didn't go to plan.

"Tarrlok, you need to turn the power back on and leave these people alone." Korra demanded.

"Avatar Korra, you and your playmates have no business here." Tarrlok responded harshly.

"We're not going anywhere. You don't have the right to treat these innocent people like criminals." Korra continued.

"This is an Equalist rally." Tarrlok protested. "There is nothing innocent about it."

"Yeah, those children look like really violent criminals to me." Meriona retorted sarcastically.

"And who might you be?" Tarrlok said condescendingly.

"Meriona." She replied, standing proudly.

Tarrlok's featured changed immediately, from derision to shock. "Tenzin's daughter."

"They're not Equalists, they're just normal people who want their rights back." Asami defended.

"They are the enemy!" Tarrlok replied furiously before turning to the metalbending officers. "Round up all these Equalists!"

Turning back to the crowd, Meriona watched furiously as metalbending officers began to bend the barriers, making them coil around the people and bending the earth beneath them, lifting them off the ground. The police force prepared to put the people into the police trucks, but Korra intervened.

"Stop!" She exclaimed, running forward and bending the mounds of earth down so that people could escape.

Meriona smiled proudly, when she heard Asami cry out.

"Hey! Let me go!"

Turning back, Meriona saw Tarrlok bend a water whip to grab onto Asami's wrist.

"You're under arrest!"

"What?" Mako responded, shocked. "You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can." Tarrlok defended. "She's a non-bender out past curfew and her father is a known Equalist conspirator."

"Let her go!"

Tarrlok turned to the metalbending officers and pointed at the brothers. "Arrest him and his brother!"

The metalbending officers coiled their cables around the brothers and pulled them in. Korra did not respond well.

"Tarrlok!" She shouted, bending two massive rocks on either side of her.

"Unless you want to join your friends in prison, I suggest you put those down and go back to the Air Temple." Tarrlok threatened.

Sensing the need to diffuse the violence, Meriona stepped in.

"What about me? You gunna arrest me too?" Meriona taunted, slowly approaching Tarrlok. "No you won't. Because of who my father is. I'm a non-bender breaking your precious curfew." She stopped, less than a metre away from him and looked him calmly in the eye. "But bending isn't what this is really about is it? It's about power."

Tarrlok backed out of his bending stance and stood up straight in front of her. "Go. Home."

Meriona held her ground and continued to glare at him.

"Guys, listen to him. It's not worth it." Mako called out.

Meriona could faintly see Korra lowering the rocks but she refused to look away from Tarrlok.

"We'll be all right." Bolin called out as he was led into a police van.

"Don't worry, I'll call Tenzin. He can get you out." Korra replied.

Tarrlok smirked at Korra's compliance before raising an eyebrow at Meriona.

"This isn't over." She threatened. "Not by a long shot."

With that, Meriona spun round aggressively, flicking her hair into Tarrlok's face. As she walked away, Korra stuck by her side.

"What do we do now?" Korra asked.

"You're going to go talk with my father. I've got a complaint to file."

***********************************************

However, the complaint she was filing wasn't quite what Korra had assumed. While Korra waited for Tenzin at the police office, Meriona broke into Tarrlok's office and waited for him to return. Meriona needed to know what Tarrlok was planning. He certainly wasn't helping the city so he must have had a second agenda. She stood silently in a dark corner of the room as Tarrlok walked in and sat at his desk.

"I see, despite your lack of bending, you are just as light footed as the rest of your family." Tarrlok commented, sensing her standing in the shadows. "How did you get in here?"

"Same way as I always do."

"I could have you arrested." He threatened.

"But you won't." Meriona replied, striding forwards to stand in front of his desk. "What are you doing? How are you stopping the Equalists by hurting innocent people? You're setting up more and more restrictions against non-benders. To what end?"

"I am trying to protect this city." He defended.

"We both know that if that were true, you would have warned Beifong about the gloves."

"What?" Tarrlok spluttered in shock.

"Yeah, I know." Meriona smirked. "I'm the one who fed you the intel. I came across it on the streets but wasn't quite ready to face my father. You had the task force. I thought you could be trusted. My mistake."

"You are involving yourself in matters that you don't understand little girl." Tarrlok replied aggressively, rising from his chair slowly.

Meriona could sense he was getting progressively worked up, his aura was growing increasingly tense. She could tell she was heading towards something he didn't want her to know.

"I understand you think you can manipulate Korra by arresting her friends. You'll find she isn't as weak willed as Saikhan."

"Stop digging while you can girl. You are heading down a dangerous path."

"Your threats don't frighten me." Meriona stated boldly. "What are you planning to do? Tell me, and I might not inform the police of your hesitance to help Beifong. I wonder how the police department will take it."

Meriona watched as Tarrlok turned away from his desk to face the wall of water behind it.

"You really are just as meddlesome as your father."

Tarrlok turned around, suddenly slicing a stream of water from the waterfall at her but Meriona flipped backwards, barely dodging it. The moment her feet hit the ground, she charged at Tarrlok, who attempted to stop her with streams of water. She rolled and flipped around every attack until she was close enough to him. Crouching down quickly, she propelled herself into the air, spinning over another water whip before she twisted her body, sending a strong kick to Tarrlok's body. Seeing an opportunity, Meriona prepared for a second attack but she overestimated Tarrlok's recovery time. He sent a massive wave of water towards her, sending her across the room. Rolling out, she quickly returned to her fighting stance.

"You're talented." Tarrlok commented. "Too bad you never learnt to bend."

"You'll find I'm still capable of protecting myself."

Tarrlok smiled sadistically before thrusting his hands forward repeatedly, firing several ice darts toward Meriona, who flipped back to dodge them. Taking advantage of his interval-like attack, Meriona darted across the room, narrowly avoiding all of the darts and slowly made her way towards him for a second attack. Flipping over him, Meriona landed crouched on the ground and swung her leg out to sweep Tarrlok's legs from under him. As he slammed into the floor, Meriona prepared to subdue him.

As she raised her fist for her final attack, she felt her arm freeze above her. Meriona groaned in pain as she felt her entire body go stiff. Confused, she looked to Tarrlok to see his arm held out towards her.

"What … what are you doing?"

Tarrlok rose slowly, still holding his hands out towards her.

"I can't risk you hanging around, you know too much."

Meriona's eyes widened in realisation.

"You're a bloodbender!" She breathed, feeling Tarrlok push her onto her knees.

"Like I said, there's a lot you don't understand."

"You can't do this!" Meriona protested.

"You've left once before. I'm sure they won't question it if it happens again."

Meriona attempted to resist his bending, but it was useless. As Tarrlok pushed her further to the ground, she could feel herself getting weak. The last thing she saw was Tarrlok grinning down at her before her vision went black.

***********************************************

Meriona sluggishly came to when she heard someone yelling next to her.

"Where are you taking us? What does Rona have to do with this?!"

Slowly opening her eyes, Meriona attempted to sit up, only to find herself restricted by ropes tied around her arms and legs. Looking next to her, she saw Korra also bound.

"Korra?" Meriona asked weakly.

Korra looked to her worriedly but before she could speak, she was interrupted by Tarrlok.

"I'm taking you somewhere no one will find you." Tarrlok said menacingly. "Say goodbye to Republic City. Neither of you will see it again!"

With his final sentence he slammed the doors closed while Korra attempted to firebend her way out. Looking around weakly, Meriona recognised they were in a van. As she felt the engine start and the vehicle begin to drive away, Meriona knew they had to get out of there. Unfortunately she still felt weak from her earlier battle, and it wasn't long until her vision went black once more.

***********************************************

Author's note - I struggled a bit with this chapter, mainly with where to go with Rona and Tenzin's confrontation. I hope you don't think it was too brief, I didn't want to do to much because there's a lot more to look into in upcoming chapters.

As always, I love reviews :)


	10. 1x09 Out of the Past

Disclaimer - I do not own Legend of Aang/Korra or any of its characters/storylines.

******************************************************

Out of the Past

The day was peaceful, the water still as the boat sailed into the dock. The crew were busy fumbling around with cargo and equipment but all she could see were the vast snow plains of the South Pole. It all seemed so tranquil, like all her troubles were a thousand miles away.

As she climbed slowly down the ramp and stepped foot onto the crisp, snowy floor, a familiar face stepped forward to greet her.

"Hello grandmother."

"Hello Meriona."

******************************************************

Gasping, Meriona suddenly came to, the day's previous events coming back to her quickly. Tarrlok. He was a bloodbender. He was a bloodbender and he used his bloodbending skills to capture her and –

"You can't keep us here forever!"

Groaning, Meriona forced herself to sit up. Looking around, she found herself in a tight, metal box. She frowned. Why bother putting her in there if she wasn't a bender?

"Tarrlok!" Korra continued to yell.

"Save your breath Korra." Meriona advised. "I don't think we're somewhere anyone will hear."

"Rona!" Korra realised. "Are you okay?"

"Bit sore from being bloodbended but otherwise ok." Meriona replied, stretching out her aching muscles. "You?"

"The same. Why did Tarrlok take you?" Korra asked.

"I went to confront him at his office after he arrested the others. We fought, I was winning, and well, I think you can guess what happened next."

"How is it possible he can even bloodbend? It's not a full moon." Korra asked.

"Not a clue." Meriona said annoyed, taking a look around her surroundings.

"That jerk!" Korra yelled, banging her fist on what Meriona assumed to be a matching metal box. "When I get out of here I'm gunna take him down!"

"Let's work on getting out of here first ok?" Meriona reasoned. "What do you see?"

"Not much, I'm in a metal box like the one you're in. But I was conscious when he bought me down here. We're in a basement in a house far outside the city limits."

"Right, so it's safe to assume no one is going to be able to hear us." Meriona thought. "Did you get a look at the lock?"

"The lock?"

"Yeah, where it is, what type?"

"Oh, I think it's about mid-way on the door and just like a safe lock I think."

"So we won't be able to reach it then. Any room to bend?"

"No really and not with enough force to do any damage to this box. Anymore ideas?" Korra asked hopefully.

"Nope, fresh out." Meriona replied, annoyed. "Looks like we're going to have to wait for a rescue."

As much as she hated to be a damsel in distress, she knew there wasn't any more either of them could do. They would just have to hope that someone would come and get them.

******************************************************

Tenzin had barely slept. His conversation with Meriona the day before hadn't exactly gone as he had planned. He loved her and of course he was pleased to see her home, he had missed her greatly but it didn't change the fact that she had left. She left her home, her family without so much as a goodbye to him.

Tenzin knew that their relationship had grown distant in the last few years before she left, but he never believed it would warrant her leaving. After she had given up airbending, Tenzin didn't know how to act around her anymore. Their entire relationship had been built on her training so when it stopped, it seemed the only thing he could do to keep their relationship going was to teach her in other ways, scrolls and transcripts. He never thought she was so miserable that she would leave. He had never given up on her but she gave up on him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the phone but before he could answer he felt the movement of Meelo crawling across his face.

"Who is this? It's six in the morning! This better be important!" Meelo said annoyed.

Sitting up tiredly, Tenzin reached out and took the phone from Meelo.

"Councilman Tenzin here." He said, anxious for the reason he had been woken so early. But nothing could have prepared him for the words he was about to hear.

******************************************************

Mako was frustrated. It had been less than a day since he had been arrested and he was growing increasingly impatient in his cell.

"Are you done yet?" Mako asked as he waited for Bolin to finishing going to the toilet.

"Cover your ears!" Bolin complained. "I can't go with you listening."

Mako sighed and covered his ears agitatedly. This was ridiculous, they had been arrested for trying to help the people. Rona was lucky her dad was a councilman otherwise she would have been in a cell right next to them.

Mako glanced up as he heard the cell door being metalbent off its hinges. Turning around he saw Asami rushing towards him.

"Asami!" He cried before kissing her quickly.

"Ahh!" Bolin cried, blushing. "A little privacy, please!"

"Are you all right?" Mako asked Asami worriedly.

"I'm fine! It's so good to see you." She replied calmly.

"Hate to break up your lovers' reunion." Beifong announced, stepping forward. "But Korra's in trouble. Amon captured her."

"No." Mako said horrified. "No, she can't be gone!"

If Amon had captured Korra he would have taken her bending away and Mako couldn't imagine something so horrible happening to Korra. She was so strong but he knew how fragile she could be, how pressured she felt as the Avatar. This would break her. They had to get her back before Amon got to her.

"Come on, we have an Avatar to rescue." Beifong said confidently.

******************************************************

Meriona sat in her cell, leaning against the wall agitated. Apparently Korra wasn't fond of the idea of waiting to be rescued and had continued to make as much noise as possible. For the past hour, Meriona had heard Korra repeatedly throw herself against the sides of the box, kicking, and pounding it in an attempt to break herself out by sheer force.

"Somebody! Help! Please!" She cried, desperately pounding on the door. "Please."

"KORRA!" Meriona finally shouted. "This isn't getting you anywhere, it's just depleting your strength and driving me insane so please stop it."

"What would you have me do Rona?" Korra replied, aggravated. "Sit here and do nothing."

"Not nothing, but what you are doing clearly isn't working." Meriona reasoned. "Maybe try meditating? Maybe a past Avatar could help."

"Tried that." Korra said dejectedly. "It's never worked."

"It's hard to do at first but once you've got it, it works pretty well." Meriona stated simply.

"Wait, what?!" Korra asked, confused. "You've done it? How?"

"I haven't exactly done it like you would. But I am the granddaughter of an Avatar. I may not airbend but my spiritual connections are pretty strong." Meriona could hear the confused silence from the other box and laughed slightly. "What do you think I did in my time away? Sit around and do nothing?"

"Ok so you are spiritually connected, great! But how does that help me?" Korra asked urgently.

"If you let me, I think I can help you connect with your spiritual self."

"Worth a shot." Korra agreed.

Sitting up straight, Meriona assumed a meditative pose. "Close your eyes. Picture the energies of your body flowing through your body like the water in a river. You're chakras are like pools of energy that form within your body, sometimes they get blocked and blocks prevent you from reaching your inner spirit. Unblocking the chakras takes time but it is not needed to see your spiritual self. Picture the source of the river, picture where all the energy stems from and let go."

Meriona could sense Korra's spirit holding back, blocked by Korra's lack of faith in her own ability. Reaching out her astral spirit, Meriona connected with Korra, their friendship allowing them to link easily.

Believe in yourself Korra. You can do this. Let go.

Meriona felt a rush as Korra allowed herself to give into a vision. Preparing to let Korra go, Meriona was surprised to find herself allowed into the vision.

******************************************************

She watched the vision become clear and Meriona saw an airbending monk standing in a street. He turned as he heard multiple booted footsteps behind him.

Aang.

"What are you doing here, Aang?"

Meriona turned to see the metal bending chief walking towards the previous Avatar with several officers following behind her.

Toph.

"I told you, I have this under control"

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't get involved, but if what those victims said is true, we're not dealing with a normal criminal." Aang said, concerned.

"Fine. Follow me, Twinkle Toes." Toph said smiling.

"Toph, I'm forty years old. You think you could stop with the nicknames?"

"'Fraid not."

Meriona smiled as she watched her grandfather interact with his old friends. It was nice to see that despite his deep responsibility, they never saw him as more than just him.

As the scene changed to the interior of a restaurant, Korra and Meriona watched as Aang and Toph approached a man eating.

"It's over! You're under arrest, Yakone!" Toph announced.

"What is Republic City coming to? Used to be, a man could enjoy his lunch in peace." He said confidently before Toph bent a cable around his wrist and yanked him forward, knocking over his table. A policeman came to tie his arms behind him. "What's the big idea?"

"We have dozens of witnesses, Yakone. We know what you are." Aang spoke calmly.

"Take him away." Toph ordered.

"I've beaten every trumped-up charge you yahoos have brought against me! And I'll beat this one, too." Yakone spoke confidently and arrogantly.

The scene went white as the vision cleared and Korra and Meriona opened their eyes to find themselves back in their cells.

"Whoa." They both cried.

"I finally connected with you, Aang." Korra said surprised. "Thank you Rona."

Meriona sat in shock. "I've never seen anything like that before." Meriona said softly. "I've sensed things, had a few feelings of premonition but never anything like that. But, what was he trying to tell us?" Meriona asked, confused.

"A way out of this box would be nice." Korra muttered.

"Come on Korra. He's trying to tell us something. Let's find out."

Closing their eyes, they allowed themselves to once more fall into the vision.

Mako and the others walked into Tenzin's office to witness him in an intense conversation over the phone. Noticing their arrival he promptly ended the conversation.

"I have to go. Call me back the minute you hear anything." He said, standing up surprised. "Lin? Wh-wh-what are y- What are y- You should be in the hospital! And you three!" He said pointing to Mako, Bolin and Asami. "You should be in prison!"

"I figured you could use our help finding Korra." Beifong said simply, before Mako stepped forward anxiously.

"Do you have any leads?"

"I've been on the phone all morning, but nothing yet." Tenzin replied dejectedly.

"We need Naga! She can track Korra." Mako suggested.

"I'm afraid her polar bear dog is missing as well."

"Well what about Rona? Maybe she's heard something. Any rumours going round on the streets."

Tenzin paused and frowned. "She isn't with you?"

"No. We haven't seen her since we were arrested. Why? Didn't she come back here last night?" Mako asked worriedly. He had a bad feeling about this.

"No. Korra said she went to file a complaint of some sort." Tenzin explained.

"Do you really think Rona is one to file a complaint?" Mako asked. "Or that she wouldn't come straight to you the moment she found out Korra was taken? It's not exactly a secret, it's all over the news!"

"What are you suggesting?" Tenzin asked.

"I don't know, but it doesn't feel right." Mako was losing it. First Korra was taken by Equalists and now Meriona was missing.

"Look, let's focus on Korra for now." Beifong interrupted. "I'm sure Meriona will turn up. It isn't exactly unlike her to go missing."

Mako took a breath. Beifong was right. It was likely Rona was patrolling the streets, looking for information just like he suggested. They needed to focus their efforts on Korra.

"Okay, but where do we start?" Bolin asked.

"My guess is the Equalists are hiding underground in the maze of tunnels beneath the city." Beifong suggested.

"Underground." Asami said bitterly. "Just like my father's secret factory. Figures."

"Yeah! Yeah, that makes sense! When those chi blockers had me in their truck, it sounded like we drove into a tunnel!" Bolin agreed.

Mako froze as he remembered where he and Korra saw the chi blockers take Bolin.

"I know where to start looking! Come on!" Mako instructed, running out of the room with Asami and Bolin close behind him. He was going to find Korra, he had to.

After they had left the room, Beifong turned to Tenzin.

"Wherever Amon is keeping Korra, I bet that's where my officers are too."

"Let's bring them all home, Lin." Tenzin determinedly. As worried as he was about Rona, he could not deny that she did disappear a lot. Tarrlok had said only Korra had come to see him and that only she had been taken. And why would they go after Rona anyway? She was a non-bender. Tenzin sighed before following Beifong out of the room. He would look for Rona later.

******************************************************

As the vision continued, Meriona struggled to see why Aang was showing them this. It seemed to be a regular trial of a crime lord called Yakone. Meriona didn't understand how this information applied to them.

"Yakone has ruled Republic City's criminal empire for years. Yet he has always managed to stay out of the law's reach, until now. You will hear testimony, from dozens of his victims, and they will tell you, Yakone has maintained his grip on the underworld by using an ability that has been illegal for decades. Bloodbending."

Ah maybe that's why.

"The prosecution's entire case is built upon the make-believe notion that my client is able to bloodbend at will, at any time on any day. I remind the council that bloodbending is an incredibly rare skill and it can only be performed during a full moon. Yet, the witnesses will claim that my client used bloodbending at everyother time except during a full moon. It would be a mockery of justice to convict a man of a crime that is impossible to commit."

Meriona watched Yakone throughout the vision. Something was off about him. He seemed too comfortable for a man on trial, for a man who could spend the rest of his life in jail. His aura was blocked by a dark presence. There was nothing good about this man.

The scene flashed forward to the deliberations of the United Republic Council.

"Councilman Sokka will now deliver the verdict."

"In my years, I have encountered people born with rare and unique bending abilities. Why, I once bested a man with my trusty boomerang who was able to firebend with his mind."

Meriona smiled. In her time at the South Pole, her grandmother had told her many stories of her childhood with Aang, Toph and Sokka, many of which involved Sokka's trusty boomerang.

"Why, even metalbending was considered impossible for all of history until our esteemed Chief of Police, Toph Beifong, singlehandedly developed the skill. The overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence has convinced this council that Yakone is one of these unique benders and he exploited his ability to commit these heinous crimes. We find Yakone guilty of all charges and sentence him to life in prison."

Before Meriona could even smile at the Council's decision, she heard Sokka cry out. Looking back, she watched in horror as Yakone used bloodbending to contort the bodies of all the councilmen. As Toph tried to stop him by metalbending her cables at him, Yakone focused his attentions on her, incapacitating her immediately. Meriona shivered as he laughed cruelly, controlling the entire room. Even Aang couldn't break his control. Meriona could sense the familiarity of Yakone's bending as he manipulated the people in the vision, it was the same she had felt when Tarrlok had bloodbent her. They were related. Meriona could sense the distress coming from Korra, but there was little she could do to comfort her, also feeling troubled by the scenes unfolding before her.

******************************************************

Mako was furious. They had successfully infiltrated an Equalist base and rescued Beifong's men, but they were not in time to save their bending and they couldn't find Korra. Apparently there had been no Equalist attack, they never took Korra. Tarrlok lied. Tarrlok knew where Korra was and Mako was going to find out.

Storming into City Hall, Tenzin and the others approached the council members and Chief Saikhan.

"Thank you all for meeting us on such short notice."

Mako watched the cold exchange between the old and new police chief until they heard a voice call out behind them. The person they were waiting for.

"Have you news of Avatar Korra?" Tarrlok said as he approached, the fake concern now obvious to Mako.

"We do." Tenzin said sternly. "You kidnapped her, Tarrlok!"

"I am shocked you would accuse me of such an evil act! I already explained: Equalists attacked us and took her!" He said innocently, but Mako knew no one was buying it.

"But there were no chi blockers here last night. You planted the evidence, didn't you?" Tenzin accused.

"That is a ridiculous accusation!" Tarrlok defended angrily.

"It's true! He took her!" A voice rang out.

Looking up to the balcony, Mako spotted a council page cowering from behind a pillar.

"I was here when Avatar Korra arrived last night, but Councilman Tarrlok ordered me to leave. I was on my way out when I saw Tarrlok bring her down to the garage."

"That is nonsense! Everyone knows you're nothing but a squeaky-voiced liar!" Tarrlok shouted, enraged.

"Why did you wait until now to 'fess up?" Beifong questioned.

"I was terrified to tell because ... Because Tarrlok is a bloodbender! He bloodbent Avatar Korra!"

Mako looked to Tarrlok in horror, quickly taking a firebending stance. Everyone knew how terrible bloodbending was, it had been made illegal from the first time it was discovered. To take away a person's free will? There was little considered so barbaric.

"And it wasn't just Korra." The page shouted out.

Mako eyes widened in fear, his earlier worries coming back suddenly. "What?!"

"Tarrlok had someone else in the back of his car, someone else that he kidnapped."

"Who?" Tenzin demanded, his thoughts suddenly realising what might have happened.

"Your daughter. He took Meriona too."

If Mako was angry before he was fuming now. This man had bloodbent two people he cared about. He had kidnapped them and sent them on a wild goose chase, pretending to care about their safety. All the benders prepared to attack.

"Don't make this worse for yourself." Tenzin warned, taking an airbending stance. "Tell us where you have Korra and my daughter."

Tenzin saw Lin also prepare to attack. Taking Korra was bad enough but this man had taken his daughter. They may have their differences but Tenzin loved Meriona. Tarrlok had threatened his family and he was not going to get away with it.

As they all prepared to subdue Tarrlok, they all felt themselves lose control of their bodies. They cried out in pain as Tarrlok bloodbent them to their knees. Mako tried to fight back but Tarrlok continued to bloodbend them until one by one, everyone fell unconscious.

******************************************************

Tenzin came to when he felt a hard slap across his face.

"Wake up!" Beifong ordered.

Tenzin sat up to see all the others waking up stiffly.

"Ughh! Man! I had this awful dream that Korra and Rona were taken by this evil bloodbender." Bolin described. "So weird."

"Bolin, that really happened." Asami explained as Mako helped her up. "He knocked us out."

"Are you serious?" Bolin said in shock. "Where is he? Is he here right now?"

"Tarrlok is long gone. I'll alert the whole force." Saikhan announced, leaving with the council members.

"Meriona." Tenzin whispered. "I spent all day so worried about Korra I didn't even realise my own daughter was missing. I've done it again." He said guiltily.

"You weren't the only ones." Mako said ashamed. He should have known Rona would have got involved if she could. He should have trusted his initial gut feeling. Now both Korra and Rona were in trouble.

"We've only been out for a little while. Maybe we can still pick up Tarrlok's trail." Beifong said confidently.

"It could lead us to them! Let's go." Tenzin said, determinedly. He was not going to lose his daughter again.

******************************************************

Meriona watched in disgust as Yakone continued to easily control everyone in the room, relishing his own power as he used it to free himself and render everyone unconscious. Everyone except Aang who managed to cling to consciousness. Seeing this, Yakone levitated him high into the air.

"Yakone. You won't get away with this!" Aang gasped with difficulty.

"Republic City's mine, Avatar. I'll be back one day to claim it."

Then, Yakone bloodbent Aang into the steps of the podium, knocking him out, before running outside. Watching as he left, Meriona turned back to her grandfather. Suddenly, Aang came to, his eyes and tattoos glowing brightly.

The Avatar state.

Bursting out of City Hall on a large air scooter, Aang quickly caught up with Yakone, sending a powerful blade of wind to flip his cart. Meriona watched warily as Aang floated in front of the cart, waiting to see if it was over. Abruptly, Yakone burst out of the side door and bloodbent him painfully to the ground.

"This time I'm gonna put you to sleep for good!" Yakone threatened menacingly.

Meriona could do nothing but watch as her grandfather was lifted into the air, his body being contorted painfully. She knew that this was not where her grandfather died, but Meriona could not help the intense fear she had as Yakone prepared to finish him off. However, before he could go any further, Aang's eyes glowed once more, breaking Yakone's control over his body and immobilising him with a cone of rock. Slowly, Aang approached Yakone, placing his thumbs on Yakone's forehead and chest.

"I'm taking away your bending, for good."

As Aang's eyes lit up once more, everything went into slow motion. Meriona observed, intrigued as Aang arched his head back, releasing a blue energy out of his eyes and mouth and into the sky. Meanwhile, Meriona saw Yakone's terrified face as his eyes and mouth began to shine out a red energy. Soon both bodies were consumed by the blue and red energies.

As Meriona watched, she heard a deep, unfamiliar voice and the scene cleared to reveal a young Aang speaking with a legendary Lion turtle. Meriona gasped. Katara had told her many times of this moment, but she never thought she would actually see it.

Placing his claw in a similar position to Aang's hands on Yakone, the Lion turtle spoke. "To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable or you will be corrupted and destroyed."

The scene returned to that of Aang and Yakone where Meriona saw the blue light from Aang's body overcome Yakone's before an intense beam of blue energy burst into the sky.

Time seemed to catch up as Aang stepped away from Yakone.

"It's over."

Suddenly the vision faded and Meriona found herself back in her cell, overwhelmed at what she had just seen.

"Aang." She heard Korra mumble. "This whole time ... you were trying to warn me about Tarrlok."

"Did you see that energy?" Rona breathed.

"What energy?" Korra asked confused, having not seen how Aang was able to remove Yakone's bending.

"I've never seen anything like it." Meriona whispered. The news that Tarrlok was related to Yakone was surprising enough, but what had really shocked Meriona was how she had witnessed Aang actually bending a person's energy. It was incredible. Bu why not show Korra? What was Aang trying to tell her?

Meriona was snapped back to reality as she heard a door slam open and Tarrlok stamp furiously down the stairs.

"My life is a disaster now, thanks to you two." He ranted. It didn't take long for Meriona to figure out what happened.

"So your little bloodbending secret's out?" Meriona teased, standing up in her cell.

"And I know how you bloodbent me without a full moon." Korra added. "You're Yakone's son."

"I was his son." Tarrlok corrected. "But in order to win Republic City, I had to become someone else. My father failed because he tried to rule the city from its rotten underbelly. My plan was perfect. I was to be the city's saviour. But you, you ruined everything!"

Meriona smiled. At least they had been successful in stopping one of the evil men in Republic City.

"Tarrlok, the jig is up and you have nowhere to go." Korra threatened.

"Oh no. No, I'll escape and start a new life." Tarrlok plotted. "And you're coming as my hostage Avatar. I don't really care what happens to you Meriona. I'm sure your father will find you eventually, if not, consider it payback for all the times your family has got in my way!"

"You'll never get away with this!" Rona shouted furiously.

They listened as Tarrlok climbed the stairs but heard him pause when he opened the door at the top.

"Amon!"

Meriona heard Korra gasp and panicked. She knew Amon wanted Korra prisoner now, he had made that clear after the fight at the factory. If he got Korra now, it was all over.

"Korra, listen to me!" Meriona demanded. "You need to get out of here. They are going to need to open the box to get you out and that will be your only chance to escape! You won't have time to get me out. You have to run!"

"Rona no!" Korra gasped. "I won't leave you!"

From above they could hear Amon successfully take away Tarrlok's bending. Meriona had no idea how he managed to avoid his bloodbending but they had more urgent matters to think about.

"You have to!" Meriona ordered. "What are they going to do? Take my bending away?"

Meriona knew that Amon would do nothing to harm her, he was one of her top generals. But Korra didn't know that and she needed convincing.

"You are the one to stop Amon Korra, I know it. But you can't do that if you are taken prisoner or have your bending taken away."

"I'll take care of him." They heard Amon order. "You four retrieve the Avatar. Do not underestimate her. Electrocute the box to knock her out before you open it."

Panicking, Meriona looked around her box for a way to protect Korra.

"Korra, use your wrist straps! Hang from the bar in the roof to stop yourself from being electrocuted. Jump them when they open the door and run!"

"Rona…" Korra said hesitantly.

"Promise me!"

Finally, Meriona heard Korra's reluctant acceptance. "Ok."

Sighing in relief, Meriona prepared herself for what came next. She had to help Korra escape but at the same time she had to try and protect her cover with Amon. This was going to be tricky.

They waited silently as they heard the Equalists' footsteps descending the stairs. Meriona waited as she heard the Lieutenant approach Korra's box.

"It's payback time."

Hearing the charging the Lieutenant's kali sticks, Meriona listened as he shocked the box. Hearing Korra's cries of pain, she could only hope they were faked.

"Open the box." The Lieutenant announced as he finished shocking the box. Hearing them unlock the door, Meriona waited hopefully for Korra to begin her attack.

"Tie her up."

Suddenly, Meriona heard the Equalists cry out as she saw a red glow through the top of her box. Hearing quick footsteps up the stairs, Meriona smiled in relief at the thought that Korra got away. Hearing them attempt to open her box, she smirked. Now it was time to get back into character.

"Forget about me you idiots! Get the Avatar!"

Hearing all but one leave, Meriona waited for them to open her door before she barged past them and up the stairs. Running up to where Amon and the Lieutenant stood, she looked down the steep mountain slope to see a waterbending trail where Korra had got away. She smiled internally.

"You imbeciles!" She yelled as she chastised the Lieutenant. "How could you let her get away?! She was already captured. Given to you like a present, all wrapped with a nice little bow and you let her escape?!"

"I thought I told you not to underestimate her." Amon calmly scolded.

"I'm sorry Amon. It won't happen again."

There was a silence as they watched the view that overlooked Republic City.

"Do you want me to go back to her?" Meriona asked. "I can say I made a heroic escape. They won't deny me."

"No." Amon responded, making Meriona frown at him in shock. "The time has come for our endgame. The war has begun."

Turning back, Meriona looked over Republic City, dreading what was about to happen.

******************************************************

Author's note - Oooo the war has started. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was my first one where I wrote with another character's perspective so lemme know how it went.

I've had many questions about Meriona's abilities and whether or not she will receive airbending after harmonic convergence. Lemme know what you think :)

The big reveal is very close :) DUN DUN DUUUN! Tell me how you think everyone will react.

Thank you for sticking with me


	11. 1x10 Turning the Tides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!!!
> 
> It's hard to believe it has been over a year since I last updated. To make it up to my followers I am posting 2 chapters at the same time. I have really missed this story so hopefully it won't take too long to update again but I have a lot going on at the moment so cannot say for certain.
> 
> Again sorry for the delay, hope these chapters make up for it.

As they returned to the temple, Mako took his place at Korra’s bedside, taking her hand. He was relieved to see Korra safe but Rona was still missing, and they had no clue where to look for her. Mako couldn’t understand why Tarrlok would take Rona. Sure, she was Tenzin’s daughter but the Avatar would hold more value as a hostage. What did he want with her? Hopefully when Korra woke up, they would learn more.

They had been searching the city for Tarrlok when they spotted Naga riding through the streets. As they approached, Mako felt his heart ease with relief as he spotted Korra on her back. Apart from when Bolin had been kidnapped, he had never been so worried about anyone. He had felt like he was losing his mind. His relief was short-lived as he realised there was no sign of Meriona. Korra used the last of her strength to tell them of the house they had been kept in but, by the time they had arrived, both Tarrlok and Meriona were gone.

Tenzin walked sadly through the temple towards his room. What was he going to tell his family? Meriona was missing, kidnapped. He had failed her. He should have realised she was missing, should have looked for her sooner, should have never let her out of his sight after he finally got her back. But he did. And now she was gone, again.

As he entered the room, he saw his wife and children all sleeping in one bed. He sat next to the bed and placed his hand on Pema's stomach causing both her and Jinora to open their eyes.

“Daddy, you're home.” Jinora said, drowsily sitting up. “We waited up for you. Is Korra okay?”

“Yes, she's fine, sweetie.” He replied solemnly, embracing Ikki as she reached out for a hug.

“I was scared.” Ikki said. “I thought she wasn't coming back.”

“I'm sorry you were scared.” Tenzin apologised, taking in the frightened expressions on his young children’s faces. He hadn’t quite realised the effect that Korra’s disappearance had on his children. He couldn’t imagine their fear if they learnt that their sister was missing. Seeing how scared they were, Tenzin made the decision to protect his children from further anxiety. They didn’t need to know about Meriona, not yet. “But everything is going to be fine now. I promise.”

Looking to Pema, they shared a look that told her that not everything was as fine as he had said.

“Children why don’t you go to the kitchen and help make breakfast. I’m sure Korra would appreciate it.” Pema suggested.

“Yay!” The children cried, quickly racing out of the room and down the hall.

“What is it Tenzin?” Pema said directly. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Tenzin sighed. “Tarrlok didn’t just take Korra. He took Meriona too. She’s still missing.”

“No!” Pema breathed, holding her hand to her mouth.

“But we will get her back!” Tenzin said determinedly. “I promise you, we will not lose her daughter again!”

***********************************************************************************************

Meanwhile Meriona stood watch in yet another secret factory, watching as Hiroshi made finishing touches to his blimps. This had got out of hand. Meriona had hoped to have stopped Amon before anything could escalate this far. She had failed. What had she really accomplished? A few tips here and there, delaying the training of a few new recruits? She was a joke. She had done nothing to prevent this war from happening.

Frowning, Meriona stood resolved. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything about it now. If she hadn’t lost Amon’s faith, she might have known about his plans earlier, she might have been able to stop him before the war, but it was too late for that now. Regardless of whether Republic City had her help or not, it was not ready for the attack Amon was about to unleash. All she could do now was help overthrow Amon after he took over, limiting the damage caused by their attack. By proving herself in the upcoming battle, she could cement her place at Amon’s side, making it easier for her to help the United Forces beat him, once they arrived.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” A voice came from behind her, but she didn’t need to turn to know who it was.  
“Amon.” Slowly, Amon came to stand beside her as she continued to look out over the armada of battle blimps preparing for their attack.

“Soon, we will no longer have to hide in the shadows. Soon we will take our rightful places in the world.”

Meriona simply nodded but remained silent.

“You seem disconcerted.” He stated. “Are you sure you are fully recovered from Tarrlok’s bloodbending?”

“It takes more than that to hurt me.” She stated coldly.

“Then what has you so apprehensive?”

“Are we sure no one will be hurt?” Meriona asked.

“Are you starting to doubt our cause?” Amon questioned.

“No.” She said firmly. “But my aim is to equalize, not harm. These blimps don’t particularly seem to follow that.”

“We have used force in the past.”

“Only when necessary, and nothing that has seriously harmed anyone.”

“We are at war Meriona, there are bound to be casualties, on both sides.” Meriona’s fists tightened at her sides but she remained silent. “But if it puts you mind at ease, all the Equalists have been instructed to avoid casualties as much as they can. We plan to capture and cleanse all the benders of this city not kill them.”

“Good.” Meriona stated. If there was going to be a war, at least there would be limited casualties.

“Don’t worry, soon you will have the equality you always dreamed of.”

Meriona frowned as Amon walked away. She hoped that Korra had had enough time to get her strength back. She was going to need it for the fight that was coming.

***********************************************************************************************

The moment Korra woke up her thoughts went straight to Rona. She tried to get out of bed only to find arms holding her still.

“Whoa Korra, calm down.” Mako said, frantically trying to keep Korra in her bed.

“I can’t. They’ve got Rona!” Korra shouted. “Let me go!”

“We went to the house Korra, they were long gone.” Mako explained. “If you really want to help her then you need to recover your strength.” Mako was desperate to find out as much as he could about what the girls had been through so that they could start looking for Rona but before Mako could ask any more, he was ushered out by the healers.

As he went to join the others in the dining hall, they anxiously waited for Korra’s arrival. Finally a healer arrived and informed them that she was fine, but that they should wait for her to get some of her strength back before asking any questions.

When Korra arrived she didn’t hesitate to devour the food that Pema and the kids had prepared for her, keen to recover and go after Amon and Meriona. Tenzin sat anxiously, waiting to be able to ask what had happened to his daughter. When he believed that she had recovered enough, he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Korra, I realize you've been through a lot, but I need to know everything that happened. Where’s Meriona?”

Korra’s face turned sombre. “Well, first off, Tarrlok isn't who he says he is. He's Yakone's son.”

At this revelation, Tenzin and Beifong looked at each other in shock.

“It all makes sense now.” Beifong realised. “That's how Tarrlok was able to bloodbend us without a full moon.”

“But how did you escape?” Tenzin continued. “And where's Tarrlok and Meriona?”

“Amon captured him and took his bending.” Korra said seriously.

“What?” Tenzin said worriedly.

“Yeah, he showed up out of nowhere.” Korra explained. “He almost got me too but Rona helped me get away.” She paused as she looked down at her food guiltily. “I shouldn’t have left her.”

“No. You were right to escape.” Beifong reassured. “The Avatar is too important to the world have your bending taken.”

“And knowing Rona she probably didn’t give you much of a choice anyway.” Mako commented quietly, knowing that Rona would have done anything to protect her friend, even at her cost.

Korra smiled slightly. “No she didn’t.”

Tenzin sat silently, not knowing what to do with the information. Amon capturing any of his family was a terrifying thought, mainly because he would take away their bending. Knowing that he could cause no such harm to Rona was a comfort at least, but Tenzin was still worried for his daughter. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“She’ll be fine Tenzin.” Beifong comforted. “He can’t do anything to her.”

Tenzin nodded and stood determinedly. “This is very disturbing news. Amon is becoming emboldened. Taking out a councilman, almost capturing the Avatar ... I fear Amon is entering his endgame.”

The group looked to each other in concern. The only question was, what was his next step?

***********************************************************************************************

Meriona ran through the streets quickly. Amon had finally confided in her the true extent of his plan. He had given orders for the remaining councilmen to be captured as well as for an assault on the police headquarters and on Air Temple Island. He planned to capture all high ranking benders in the city, including metalbenders and her family. He had ordered her to do a quick check of all of the squads to make sure they were prepared for the attack. She had taken the time to try and spread word of the attack, using her previous contacts to warn as many people as they could. If she was fast enough, they could inform Korra and the others about the attacks so they could prepare and escape. She wasn’t going to risk her family.

As she was running, she thought back to the visions Aang had given her. Why had he let her see him remove bending and not Korra. Was there something she was meant to do with that information? The way Aang had removed bending was completely different to how Amon did it. Did that mean there was a way to stop it? Unfortunately she didn’t have much time to think on it as she arrived at her meeting place. She could only hope she wasn’t too late to warn everyone.

***********************************************************************************************

Tenzin’s worries for Meriona’s safety did not diminish as he flew to City Hall. Although he had been comforted by the fact that Beifong had stayed behind to protect the rest of his family, he couldn’t forget that one of his children was still in danger. He had only just got Meriona back and he had lost her before they had had a chance to amend their differences. He had known their reunion was going to be difficult but he hadn’t expected so much animosity from Meriona. Their relationship had seriously deteriorated as her lack of airbending became apparent and even more so after she quit trying, but he had never expected her to end up hating him. As he approached City Hall, Tenzin could only hope he wasn’t too late to fix his relationship with Meriona.

***********************************************************************************************

Meriona stood anxiously with Amon and Hiroshi on an airship approaching the city, hoping that her contacts had enough time to warn everyone. Amon’s airships were well equipped and Republic City was not prepared for an attack of such magnitude. The best thing the people could do was to hide and wait for reinforcements from the United Forces. She only hoped that enough people could make it to safety. From then onwards, anyone who had their bending taken away was on her. She hadn’t prevented any of this from happening. This was her fault.

As the first bombs went off around the city, Meriona stood guiltily, staring out of the window. She noticed that some of the bombs she had revealed had been disarmed but there was still so much damage being done to the city. This was her home. She grew up on Air Temple Island but for the past 2 years she had made the streets of Republic City her home. She knew the businesses, the people and the families. Now all were at risk because she couldn’t stop Amon in time.

“I've dreamed of this day for so long.” She heard Hiroshi say. How could anyone hope for such violence? She knew the tragedy that he had suffered but this was not going to fix anything.

“Yes, the time has come for the Equalists to claim Republic City as their own.” Amon replied eerily. Meriona glanced over in their direction to see them both standing proud over the destruction of the city. As they headed towards Police Headquarters, she prayed her warning had been received in time. The police force was not ready for what was coming for them.

***********************************************************************************************

As they drove through the streets of Republic City, Mako couldn’t believe the amount of damage being done. After his fight with Asami about Korra, he had been in a mood with her but now, seeing the state of his city, his anger was targeted at Amon and his Equalists. As they approached Police Headquarters and saw the Equalists loading an unconscious Tenzin into a truck, Mako conjured a fireball in his hand. They were going to pay for what they were doing and they were going to get Rona back!

***********************************************************************************************

Meriona smiled under her mask as she watched Korra, Bolin, Mako and Asami rescue her father from the Equalists. Despite her contact warning the police to evacuate the building, the mecha tanks had already been waiting for them and they had successfully captured Chief Saikhan. Just as they were about to drive away with her father, team Avatar had arrived in time to save him.

“Tenzin has escaped once again.” Hiroshi ranted as Meriona smirked under her mask. “I can't stand to see Asami fighting alongside those benders.”

“We'll capture them before long and you will have your daughter back.”

With that said, Amon turned to Meriona and nodded. Sighing under her mask, she knew this meant she was meant to do the capturing. Signalling to the other Equalists on board, Meriona approached the edge of the airship. She had to find a way to let them all escape, she had to lose this fight.

***********************************************************************************************

As Team Avatar attempted to recover from their fights against the mecha tanks, several grappling lines fired from an airship, landing around them.

“Oh great.” Korra mumbled as they all took a fighting stance.

As their General signalled for the chi blockers to close in on them, straight away, Mako, Bolin, Korra, and Tenzin engaged them with their bending. Several chi blockers threw cables towards them, only for Bolin and Korra to bend a wall of earth to protect themselves. Leading three others, the General launched over the wall, landing crouched and immediately pushed up to kick at Bolin while the other three attacked the Korra, Mako, Asami and Tenzin. This successfully broke Team Avatar’s circle, separating them but they still fought back aggressively. Asami was successfully using her father’s own invention to fight back, taking out several Equalists as they attacked her, nimbly dodging their attacks before electrocuting them with the glove. Mako was using the electricity in the cables to redirect it towards the Equalists. Korra didn’t even know he could do that. As the General fought Bolin, he defended himself well, blocking many of the attacks with disks of earth. Seeing an opportunity, the General crouched and kicked out, swiping Bolin’s feet out from under him. As he landed, Korra saw the General go to deliver a series of jabs at Bolin. Summoning a large flow of water, Korra threw her opponent towards the General before they could attack Bolin. The force from Korra’s water attack knocked the General back, sending their mask flying. The gang all gathered around the General as they lifted their head back up again, only for the gang to gasp in shock.

“Rona?!”

***********************************************************************************************

Disorientated after the jet of water hit her, Meriona lifted her hand up only to feel that her mask had been knocked off by the force of the water. She had nowhere to hide. Meriona cursed inwardly. She had hoped that this wouldn’t happen but for now she knew she was being watched so needed to play her part. As the gang stood in shock, attempting to understand what had happened, Meriona pushed herself off the floor and straight towards Bolin who held his hands up to block her jabs.

“Rona what are you doing?” He grunted, trying to escape her attacks.

Flipping over him, Meriona tried to jab a pressure point on his back.

“Stop!” Korra shouted, sending a block of earth to knock Meriona to the side but Meriona was able to jump and land on the block, flipping off it a few feet away from her friends.

“Rona, what are you doing?” Korra demanded, stepping forward.

“Following orders.” She replied smoothly. She had to sell it if she was going to stay at Amon’s side.

“You’re an Equalist?!” Mako said, astonished. “Why would you be with them?!”

“Ask him” She said coldly, pointing towards her father. She had told Amon he was the reason for becoming an Equalist so she had to use him now.

Tenzin stood in complete horror staring at his daughter dressed in Equalist gear. Is this what he had made her become? Did she really hate him this much?

“I don’t understand.” He said quietly, still in shock.

“You have no idea what it’s like to not have bending.” Meriona continued venomously. “To be the only one in the family who doesn’t. From the moment it became clear that I couldn’t airbend, I was never good enough for you.” Meriona accused, glaring at her father. “For years I thought it was my fault, that I was the reason you hated me. But Amon has made me realise that the only thing separating me from you is my inability to bend. Without bending, there is no cause for inequality.”

“Taking away bending won’t change anything.” Korra fought back. Meriona knew she was right, and she did dislike being so hateful to her father, even if they had fallen out, but the rest of the Equalists were getting up. She had to put on a good show for them.

“It already has.” Meriona continued. “Look how the city has changed since the Equalists arrived. Non benders are finally finding the confidence to stand up for their rights.”

“You lied to us!” Mako shouted. “We trusted you! And you were with them all along?!”

Meriona sighed. This was the part she had been dreading. The look of disgust on her friends faces. A look that was unlikely to ever go away. “I want you to know that despite everything, I do consider you my friends. I hope in time you can understand why I had to do this.”

“No!” Mako yelled. “I will never understand why you did this. There is no reason good enough.”

Meriona hoped that wasn’t true. Maybe when this was all over they could start over again. As Meriona watched her friends slowly close in around her, she noticed the other Equalists find their feet and prepared a smoke grenade behind her back.

“When this is all over, you will thank me.”

With her final words she slammed the smoke grenade to the floor, just as Team Avatar made their move to attack her. As the smoke engulfed the area, Tenzin was snapped out of his trance and used his airbending to clear the smoke.

Mako stood furious, hands held in tight fists by his side. How could she do this? She was supposed to be their friend. They trusted her! Even after she lied about her identity they gave her a second chance. But it wasn’t just her family she lied about, it was everything. She was probably laughing at them after they forgave her, sniggering every time they confided to her about their hopes, their fears. She played them from the beginning and they bought everything she sold.

Bolin and Tenzin stood in shock, while Korra stood disappointed. She thought she knew who Rona was. She thought they had a true connection over their lack of airbending. It seems their opinions were completely opposite.

“Um…guys.” Asami said, breaking the silence. “I know we are all in shock but we have bigger problems.” Following her pointed finger, Tenzin looked down the street, where an Equalist airship could be seen arriving at Air Temple Island.

“Oh no.”

***********************************************************************************************

Meriona stood on a boat heading for Air Temple Island staring worryingly at the Equalist airships hovering above. She had tried to leave the fight early enough to give Team Avatar enough time to get to Air Temple Island to defend her family, but she left it too late, the attack had already begun. No one had called in to Amon though which is why she was being sent to evaluate their progress. With any luck the Equalist attack had been prevented by the Order of the White Lotus who were protecting the island, hopefully giving her family enough time to escape on Oogi.

She felt awful after her identity was revealed. Up to that point, she had been able to distance herself from the idea of betraying her friends because they didn’t know, she didn’t have to face the consequences. Now that her secret was out, she had to face the looks of hurt and disgust on their faces, and it wouldn’t be the last time. She would have to face them again.

***********************************************************************************************

Tenzin stared lovingly at his new son as his wife carried him aboard Oogi. He hated to leave the city in such a state, especially having just learnt that his daughter was with the enemy but he had to make sure his younger children were taken to safety. Once they were in good hands, he would return and rescue the city and his daughter from the darkness in which Amon had engulfed them both.

***********************************************************************************************

Meriona watched from the coast of the island as her family escaped on Oogi with Equalist airships in close pursuit. She watched as Chief Beifong sacrificed herself to sabotage the airships and allow her family to escape. Meriona frowned. It was a bold sacrifice, one very appreciated by her.

As the Equalist troops headed towards the temple, Meriona looked around at her surroundings. As she looked at what used to be her home engulfed in smoke, she spotted a small white figure in the distance quickly leaving the temple. She instantly recognised it as Naga. Not too far behind, Meriona spotted the Lieutenant chasing after them. Frowning in determination, Meriona realised she knew a shortcut and could beat him to the path and maybe warn her friends, if they would believe her.

***********************************************************************************************

It irritated Korra to be running away to hiding but she knew Tenzin was right, it was the best thing to do for now. Beifong had told her of the hidden tunnels within the sewers, somewhere they could set up before the arrival of the United Forces. Korra could barely focus on their mission at hand, her anger toward Meriona distracting her. All that time they had believed she was their friend. They had trusted her. She would make sure Meriona paid for her betrayal.

Suddenly Bolin pointed up. “Moustache guy!”

Korra watched as the Lieutenant slid down the slope of the mountain and jumped off to attack them. Naga then jumped up and used her right paw to smack the Lieutenant off of the cliff face as they ran past.

“Nice one, Naga!” Korra complimented.

As they continued running down the path they spotted Meriona standing alone in the middle of their path. Korra prepared a block of earth to launch in her direction when they saw her step the side. Confused, Korra briefly slowed down as they passed her.

“You’re not going to try and stop us?” Mako accused angrily.

“Just know I have my reasons. For everything.” Meriona said quickly. “Now run! More soldiers will be on their way!”

Mako frowned as Korra ordered Naga to continue down the path. He looked back to see Meriona frowning in their direction. What was she doing? If she was truly an Equalist, why didn’t she try to stop them?

***********************************************************************************************

The battle was over, the fight was lost. Amon had won and the city was completely in his control. To cement his rule over the city, Amon wanted to remove the bending of those of the opposition who were the most powerful. First in line was the one who stopped him from capturing the airbenders.

Meriona stood guiltily at Amon’s side as Beifong was dragged in front of him, being forced to kneel in the rain before him.

“How could you do this to your family?!” Beifong accused Meriona. There was no mask to hide behind now. Everyone knew who she was and what she had done.

“Tell me where the Avatar is and I'll let you keep your bending.” Amon demanded, ignoring Beifong’s previous accusation.

“I won't tell you anything, you monster!” Beifong replied defiantly.

“Very well.”

As Amon walked behind Beifong, Meriona refused to look away. This was her fault, she should have to see the repercussions of her actions.

As Amon placed his thumb on her forehead, Meriona felt a surge of spiritual energy, emerging from within her. At once everything fell into slow-motion. Meriona watched as a wave of energy reverberated from Amon’s thumb and through Beifong’s body. As the energy travelled down her body it stopped at her core, clogging her chi. As the world returned to real time, Meriona stood in shock. She had seen Amon perform the act hundreds of times but she had never experienced anything like that. The way Amon took bending was so different to how Aang did. It seemed he did it by blocking a person’s chakras. If he could block them, maybe there was a way to unblock them.

The Equalists had taken over the city, the police and council captured were awaiting Amon’s judgement but for the first time Meriona felt something she hadn’t before. Hope.


	12. 1x11 Skeletons in the Closet

“It is a glorious day, my Equalist brothers and sisters! Amon has torn down the tyrannical bending government! He has declared bending illegal and he has the Avatar on the run. Our great leader has a vision for the future. One day soon, bending will no longer exist and we will live in a world where everyone is finally equal! The United Forces are on their way right now to try and stop that dream. But we will prevail!”

Meriona stood at Hiroshi’s side on the front steps of City Hall, forced to listen to his speech to the public. Bending was now banned. All encouragement of bending was being squashed, any symbol throughout the city that idolized it was being torn down. The pro-bending arena was being prepared for demolition and even the memorial statue of Aang had been changed so that he was wearing a large mask of Amon, with Equalist banners hanging from the staff. The Avatar was the strongest icon for benders, a symbol of hope and Amon was trying to take that away. Meriona glanced over at Hiroshi as he continued his hateful speech. Amon had told her that she was there for his protection in case Korra decided to attack but, with all of the Equalist airships and mecha tanks, she was hardly needed. Meriona knew why she was really there. She was the Equalists’ new symbol. As her identity had been revealed, Amon had told her there was no need for her to wear her mask anymore. Her true alliances were on display for all to see. The Avatar’s granddaughter was an Equalist. 

As Hiroshi finished his speech and the mob cheered and Meriona looked out over the crowd. She was pleased to see fewer people had turned up than the Equalists had anticipated. Amon had expected more people to support him in his vendetta against bending. It made Meriona proud to know not everyone bought everything Amon was spreading. 

As she looked out over the crowd, Meriona felt drawn to two Equalist chi blockers standing at the back. She could sense their aura and could tell they were different to those of the others in the crowd. One’s aura was intense and passionate while the others was strong and spirited. Instantly, Meriona knew who it was. She watched from the stage, making sure no one else noticed as Korra and Mako disappeared from the crowd and jumped into a hole Korra had created in the ground before sliding a rock back over. 

Meriona was pleased to see her friends had got away safely. After she had let them escape from Air Temple Island, she wasn’t sure where they had gone. She wasn’t surprised to see they were still in the city, Korra wouldn’t voluntarily abandon anyone in need. None of them would. Hopefully, she could give them the opportunity to help the city soon. It was general knowledge that the United Forces were on their way to liberate Republic City and Meriona knew Amon would be planning for their attack. With any luck she would get her hands on Amon’s plans and be able to warn the United Forces. If everything went to plan, Amon would soon be defeated.

******************************************************************************************

Korra ripped of her mask the moment they entered the tunnel.

“Can you believe Hiroshi?!” Korra asked angrily. “The Avatar's on the run. I'm not running from anyone! And Meriona just standing there by the side of that monster! Let's go back up there and knock some heads; they'll never know what hit 'em.” She demanded turning to go back.

“Relax.” Mako said, grabbing her arm. “General Iroh's coming with an entire fleet of battleships. Then Amon will be the one who's running.” 

Along with Meriona. His mind added. He still hadn’t got over her betrayal, none of them had. In the days since the Equalist takeover, Amon had eagerly shown off his favourite operative and how easily she had infiltrated and gained the Avatar’s trust. No one had really talked about it, they were all too confused about what to think. It made Mako sick to think about how much they had cared for her, trusted her. It was all a lie.

Or was it? They were still unsure as to why she hadn’t tried to stop them from escaping. Between her and the Lieutenant they could have slowed them down enough to wait for back up, but she didn’t try. She let them go. Why? What was she playing at? Mako wanted to believe that the friend he had come to care for and trust was still there, that she might have regretted her choice in choosing Amon, but he knew he couldn’t be that optimistic. In the end they didn’t know what aspects of her were truths or lies. Before returning to her family, Meriona had been away for four years. Who knows what could have happened to her in that time. They had to face facts, they didn’t really know anything about her.

Mako watched as Korra stormed ahead, furious at the turn of events. He knew how strong and powerful she was but he wasn’t about to let her put herself in danger by attacking Hiroshi and Meriona just for the sake of her anger. He knew Korra’s emotions ran very deeply, it was one of the reasons he was so attracted to her. He was impressed when he saw how much compassion and strength she could have for other people. On the other hand her tendency to over-anger could often get them into trouble. 

Mako wasn’t unaware of his newfound feelings for Korra, they had been growing stronger ever since she had been kidnapped by Tarrlok. He knew that carrying on a relationship with Asami wasn’t fair on her and he would have to deal with that but now wasn’t the time to dwell on any feelings he may be having. For now, it was best they reconvene with Bolin and Asami and wait for the United Forces. He would deal with his feelings after Amon had been defeated.

******************************************************************************************

Meriona stood to the side of the platform outside the Air Temple as Amon continued to ‘cleanse’ the people of the bending. She watched guiltily as person after person was dragged up, blindfolded, to Amon where they were forced to their knees to have their bending removed. The line went on and on, full of White Lotus sentries, policemen and normal citizens, all of whom were waiting in fear.

Meriona could only watch as each person has their bending removed, hoping something more would be revealed, that she could learn more about how Amon did it, how it could be reversed. But no, she saw nothing new. For each person, it was the same. Despite their aura or chi, a wave of energy reverberated from Amon’s thumb and through their bodies, stopping at their core and blocking their chi. She saw nothing new, nothing that could help her reverse what Amon was doing. She was failing.

As one White Lotus sentry was dragged up to Amon, his blindfold fell loose and he caught eyes with Meriona.

“How could you do this?!” He accused angrily. “How could you betray your family, their legacy?!”

Meriona felt all eyes on her and just remained silent and emotionless. She refused to break eye contact with the sentry until he was forced to his knees. As the sentry fell to the floor after his bending was removed, Meriona couldn’t take it anymore. Disgusted in herself, she walked away into the Air Temple, the new headquarters of the Equalists.

She stood in the doorway to her old room, the ghosts of her family dancing around her. Despite all her failings at least she knew they had got to safety.

“Is there a problem?” Amon spoke from behind her.

Meriona sighed. Despite being in her own home she was never going to get a moment of peace.

“Don’t tell me that you are hurt by the words of a bender.” Amon criticized. “After all you have been through, I didn’t expect you to go soft now.”

Meriona braced herself to once more play her role. “It isn’t that.” She lied, turning to face Amon.

“It doesn’t matter how many benders we cleanse, as long as the Avatar is still out there, the people of this city won’t accept our rule. As long as she is out there, this war isn’t over.” She feigned, pretending her lack of interest at the cleansing was due to her frustration over Korra’s escape.

“You are right.” Amon replied. “But she will reveal herself soon enough. The United Forces will be here in a few days, no doubt she will align herself with them for the battle.”

This peaked Meriona’s interest. Amon had mentioned nothing of the incoming United Forces ever since he had taken over. This could be her chance to learn more.

“You have a plan then?” Meriona prodded.

“I have entasked Hiroshi with designing mines for the water and small airships for the skies. While the United Forces’ ships attempt to avoid the mines in the water below, we will attack them from above. Minimal effort and damage will be required from our side.”

Meriona was horrified. She knew Amon had to planning something but she had been hoping it would be like the city takeover, that there would be limited casualties. Obviously Amon didn’t hold the same regard to soldiers as he did for citizens. While she contemplated the plans, Meriona could feel Amon waiting for a response from her.

“You are sure Hiroshi will finish the task on time?”

“I am. The mines are already in place.”

“Good.” Meriona replied. She knew the United Forces would need to be warned, otherwise it would be a bloodbath. “Might I suggest something?”

Amon simply nodded.

“Should Korra realise it is a trap, she may not align herself with the United Forces but choose to wait. She is hot-headed but she is not a fool. She’ll know when a battle is lost.”

“And you have a plan.”

“Yes. Allow me to interrogate Beifong. If I can convince Beifong to tell me where Korra is, I may be able to ambush her while she waits for the United Forces, to ensure her capture and defeat.”

“And how will you convince Beifong?”

Meriona knew the risk she had to take. “By pretending to switch sides. Beifong has only seen one side of me, the side which supports Korra. If I can convince her I am regretful of my actions, she may reveal to me where Korra is. I believe it is worth a shot.”

“Very well.” Amon replied. “See what you can find from Beifong. We shouldn’t need you for the attack tomorrow, focus your efforts on finding the Avatar.

Meriona nodded and headed for the harbour, eager to get to the Equalist cells. If she could convince Beifong to tell her where Korra was, together they may be able to warn the United Forces.

******************************************************************************************

Mako lay unable to sleep. The United Forces would be arriving in the morning. Somehow the people they were hiding with had been able to set up a telegraph station, a means of communication for them and the United Forces. They were beginning the liberation of the city the next day and Mako was filled with nerves.

“Psssst, hey Mako. Are you awake?” Bolin whispered from the ground next to him.

“Yeah.”

“You nervous for tomorrow?” Bolin asked.

“Yeah. But we’ll be fine. Between Korra and the United Forces, Amon doesn’t stand a chance.”

“What about Rona?” Bolin asked quietly. Mako’s heart clenched at his question. In truth, he didn’t really know the answer to that.

“Meriona is not our friend. She chose her side. If she chooses to fight with Amon then we will stop her.” He replied determinedly.

“But if she is on Amon’s side then why did she let us go?” Bolin asked. “She said she had her reasons. Maybe she didn’t mean to betray us. Maybe she didn’t completely lie to us.”

“But she did Bolin!” Mako replied angrily, sitting up and facing his brother. “She lied to us about who she was and then like fools we forgave her and she betrayed us again! She can’t be trusted.” 

“Do you really believe that?” Bolin asked softly.

Mako sighed and put his head in his hands. “I don’t know.” He said truthfully. “But I know that whatever happens tomorrow we’ll get through it.”

******************************************************************************************

Despite everything Beifong had been through, she knelt defiantly in the centre of her cell, eyeing up her guards who were too scared to meet her gaze. Her bending may be gone but she wasn’t about to let anyone believe that they had beaten her, that they had broken her spirit. She was much stronger than they knew. From the corner of her eye, Beifong watched as a new person entered the room and she frowned. Beifong had memorized the guard rotation in her plans to escape and there wasn’t a guard change due for another hour. Then she noticed who her visitor was and her glare deepened.

“Hello Beifong.” Meriona greeted smoothly, walking confidently up to the cell.

“What do you want?” Beifong spat. “Come to gloat about how you were able to pull one over on us? Or maybe about how easy it was to betray your own family? Your own parents and siblings?”

Meriona simply stood quietly and smiled cunningly.

“Leave us.” She ordered the guards.

“But General, she is dangerous –” The guards protested.

“Correction, she was dangerous.” Meriona interrupted. “Now she’s just like everyone else. Now she doesn’t stand a chance against me. Not like she did before anyway.” She smirked, infuriating Beifong. 

Looking back at the guards, Meriona saw them still hesitant to move. “Do I need to say it again?” She threatened. “Leave!”

The moment the guards were out of sight, Beifong watched as Meriona’s expression changed entirely and she approached the cell bars. She looked concerned and desperate, but Beifong now knew how easily she could pull off an act.

“Beifong, I know that I am probably the last person you are going to trust right now but you have to listen to me.” Meriona begged. “I swear to you I am not really on Amon’s side! I have been a mole in his operation for the last two years, hoping to stop his insane plan to ‘cleanse bending from the world’. I never dreamed it would go this far. I promise, this is the last thing I wanted to happen.”

“Yeah right.” Beifong scoffed. “I’ll admit your act is good but I’m not buying it anymore.”

“Think about it.” Meriona said, frustrated. “Who was giving you all the intel? Who revealed the training camps? Who told you about Hiroshi’s hidden factory? Who helped both Bolin and Korra escape Amon? Me! I was the only one who could have had access to that amount of information! I tried to warn you about the attack on the probending arena as well but Tarrlok prevented the information from getting to you! When I confronted him about it, he kidnapped me!”

Beifong had to admit everything she was saying was adding up. Tarrlok had no other reason to capture her and there seemed to be few others who could have had all the information on the Equalists. Since her identity was revealed, Meriona was a constant topic of gossip for her guards. They constantly complained about how Amon only trusted her and the Lieutenant with any information. Korra had also explained how Meriona had helped her escape from Tarrlok and the Equalists. Why would she do that if she knew Amon wanted Korra captured and if she was about to reveal her identity anyway?

“If what you are saying is true, why didn’t you warn us about the attack on the city?” Beifong questioned.

“By the time I knew what the plan was it had already happened. Being kidnapped by a bloodbender set my knowledge back. I thought at least with someone on the inside, I could help overthrow Amon. But all the intel I have means nothing if I can’t get it to Korra and the United Forces. I need to know where Korra is hiding.”

Beifong eyed Meriona for a moment, remaining silent. “How do I know you aren’t trying to trick me to get to Korra?” 

“Trust your gut instinct. You know the facts add up.” Meriona said determinedly. “And beyond that. Do you really believe I would ever betray my family like that?”

“My gut’s been wrong before.” She said hesitantly.

“Then call it faith.”

Beifong said nothing. She sat and looked into Meriona’s eyes. There was a despair and hope in them. If Beifong gave her the information, she could use it to capture Korra but if what Meriona was saying was true, her intel could greatly improve their chance of success against Amon. Beifong took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There was only one way to find out where Meriona’s loyalties lied.

“I may be an idiot for believing you but … Korra is hiding in the tunnel systems in the sewers beneath the city.”

Meriona smiled and sighed in relief. “Thank you.” She whispered.

As she walked away, the guards returned to their posts.

“Did she give you anything useful?” They questioned.

Beifong held her breath and watched as Meriona looked back at her before she left the room. 

“No.”

Beifong looked to the floor and smiled. At least there was some hope left in this war.

******************************************************************************************

Meriona spent the remainder of the night searching the tunnels in the sewers in a hope to find Korra and the others but had no luck. She refused to give up. Her uncle Bumi was a general for the United Forces and she knew he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to save his home. If she couldn’t warn the United Forces in time, they were going to head into extreme danger. Taking a breath, Meriona closed her eyes.

She filtered out all other senses, focussing only on trying to sense the auras around her. It was a trick she had learned in her time away but she hadn’t been able to master it. Now was her chance. Breathing deeply, Meriona pictured the tunnels around her, expanding her view and examining each direction around her. She tried to concentrate on her connections with her friends, to focus on their auras. Suddenly, she felt a surge of energy coming from her right. Gasping, Meriona opened her eyes and took off running. She had sensed a large crowd of people and, with any luck, Korra and the others would be there too.

Running into an opening in the tunnels, Meriona saw there was a makeshift alleyway built within, filled with small huts and sheds. Looking around, Meriona couldn’t sense her friends anywhere, but she could feel their lingering auras around an old man standing nearby. 

“Excuse me!” Meriona shouted out. “Do you know where I might find anyone called Korra, Mako, Bolin or Asami? It is extremely important that I speak with them!”

“I don’t know anyone by those names. No one does. Not names that I know. No siree. Names? I don’t know them. Nope. No names. Nothing. I don’t –”

“Look sir.” Meriona interrupted. “I know that you are trying to protect them but if I don’t speak to them, a lot of people are going to get hurt! Please!” She begged.

The man looked at her and smiled. “You seem like the type of girl that can be trusted. Name’s Gommu and I’m a very good judge of character.” He said proudly. “They all left this morning to fight with the United Forces.”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Meriona panicked. She was too late again. “Do you know how were they communicating with them? The Equalists have set a trap for them, they are in great danger, and I must warn them!”

“Why that would be through me. I have my own telegraph station just over here.”

Meriona looked over to where the man was pointing. It was too late to speak with Korra but maybe she could still warn the United Forces.

“Gommu, I have a very important message for you to send!”

******************************************************************************************

Korra was furious. How could they not have seen this coming? Of course Amon would have been prepared for their attack, he was always one step ahead of them. Most of the United Forces present had been captured by the Equalists and were being escorted to Amon to have their bending taken away. All except for General Iroh. They had managed to rescue him and had taken him back to their hiding place to heal. As Korra used her waterbending to heal Iroh’s wounds, they discussed their next moves.

“I was prepared to deal with Sato's mecha tanks, but not these new high-speed aircraft.” Iroh explained.

“I know. Every time we think we have an advantage, Amon outsmarts us.” Korra said sadly.

“No matter what our plan is, he always has a better one.” Bolin added dejectedly.

“Amon is winning so far, but we're not out of the fight yet.” Iroh said determinedly.

“I like this man's confidence!” Bolin admired. “So, how are we not out of the fight?”

“A second wave of reinforcements is on the way, but I need to warn them. Do you still have a way to get a message out?” Iroah asked.

“I know just the man for the job.” Korra said happily. “Gommu!” She shouted as she saw him walking past. “We need your help to send a message.”

“And who is the recipient of this top secret message?” Gommu asked.

“Commander Bumi. Second division of the United Forces.” Iroh said. “Tell him the fleet was ambushed and destroyed by Equalist aircraft. Retreat to Red Sand Island until my signal. Do not approach city until you receive the all clear.”

“No need sir.” Gommu replied.

“What?” Iroh said, confused.

“That message was already sent this morning.”

“How could it have been sent this morning? The attack has only just happened.” Mako asked.

“A young girl came looking for you four this morning claiming she knew about the ambush awaiting you. She ran off to warn you but got me to send a message to the United Forces first, hoping to stop them from coming too close to the city. Evidently it was too late to stop the first division but the message she sent was addressed to an ‘Uncle Bumi’.” Gommu explained.

“Uncle Bumi?” Asami said confused.

“Bumi is Tenzin’s brother.” Korra explained. “Which means –”

“Rona!” Bolin said triumphantly. “She came to warn us. She’s still on our side!”

“Rona?” Iroh questioned. “As in Tenzin’s daughter Meriona?”

“You know her?” Asami asked. 

“I met her once when she came to visit Commander Bumi. How is she involved?”

“She was our friend, or at least we thought she was but she was actually pretending to be our friend because she was an undercover Equalist, but then she helped us escape from Air Temple Island, but then she protected the evil inventor Hiroshi during an Equalist pep rally where he was saying some really mean things but then she came to warn us about the ambush and so she’s actually on our side!” Bolin explained quickly.

“We don’t know that for sure.” Korra said cautiously. “We’ve trusted her before and look where that got us.”

“Oh come on.” Bolin said. “Are you honestly believing she’d betray her family like this? Cause I don’t. Look I know she’s lied to us but she said she had her reasons and I believe her. If she knew we were hiding down here why didn’t she have a troop of Equalists waiting for us?”

“How did she even know we were down here?” Asami questioned.

“I don’t know.” Korra said quietly. Korra didn’t know how to feel about Meriona. One minute she was fighting them, the next she was helping them. What was her game?

“Regardless, we should leave here soon just to be sure. We need to find a way to let Bumi’s forces into Republic City.” Korra said determinedly. 

“I won’t pretend to know what Meriona has to do with this but as for how to let the second division through safely, we need to ground those aircrafts.” Iroh explained.

“They flew in from this direction.” Mako said pointing at a map. “The airfield must be somewhere over this mountain range.”

“Everyone get ready, we leave at dawn.” Iroh ordered.

“It's time to take down my father.” Asami whispered bitterly.

As everyone walked away, Korra lingered behind staring at the map. “Wait, I'm sorry, but I'm not going with you tomorrow.”

“What?” Mako said in shock. Korra wasn’t someone who would avoid a chance to fight back.

“Why not?” Asami asked surprised at her decision.

“I'm sick and tired of hiding from Amon. It's time I face him.” Korra said resolutely. She knew taking out the airships would mean nothing if Amon could go straight back into hiding.

“That's not a good plan. We need to stick together.” Iroh interjected.

“I'm not waiting for him to hunt me down. My guts tell me it's time to end this, on my terms.”

“Korra, this is not a mission you should be handling alone.” “Iroh argued.

“She won't be.” Mako said, walking toward Korra. “I'm going with you.”

“You don't have to do that.” Korra said worriedly.

“Yes, I do.”

“My grandfather would respect the Avatar's instinct. So will I.” Iroh added.

The group all stared at each other with silent determination. Whatever happened next would determine who won this war.

******************************************************************************************

The next day Meriona was patrolling the grounds of Air Temple Island. A big event was happening in a rally being held at the arena, an event Amon would tell no one about, not even her but he wanted all available Equalists present to witness it. It made Meriona extremely nervous to not know what was happening. She guessed Amon had captured General Iroh and was planning to take his bending publically as a sign of strength. Despite getting her message to the second division in time, Meriona had been unable to find her friends to warn them of the attack on the first division. Most of the men had been captured and placed into captivity while waiting for their bending to be removed. Equalists constantly blocked their chi so there was little to no hope of escape. It seemed that however much Meriona tried to help, she made little difference.

As she was walking toward the coast to make a final sweep, Meriona was stopped in her tracks as she recognised two familiar auras. Turning, she saw two Equalist guards, whom she instantly sensed as Korra and Mako heading towards the temple. She had no idea what they were planning, but as she saw the Lieutenant walking towards them, she started to panic. 

“What are you two doing here?” The Lieutenant demanded.

“Uh, we were just transferred.” Mako lied.

“Well, you're getting transferred again. Amon wants extra security at the arena today.”

“The arena? For what?” Mako said, his confusion evident.

“The rally. You should've been briefed about this.” The Lieutenant said suspiciously. Meriona knew she had to do something before their identities were revealed.

“No need to lose your stache over this Lieutenant.” Meriona interrupted, approaching the trio and confronting the Lieutenant. “We’ve got people being transferred all over the place since the takeover. Is it surprising that some of them missed the briefing?”

“It’s hardly your business now is it?” The Lieutenant spat.

“Amon instructed me with clearing the island so it makes it my business. Which reminds me, shouldn’t you be at the arena right now?” Meriona threatened snidely.

Meriona and the Lieutenant held each other’s gaze for some time before the Lieutenant stepped back. 

“See those two are properly briefed and at the rally in time. Do not be late.”

Meriona simply smirked in response and watched as the Lieutenant headed to the ships. Once out of earshot, Meriona turned on Korra and Mako.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” She accused. “Are you mad? You thought that you could just walk right up to the temple without being caught?”

“Hey! We don’t have to justify ourselves to you, traitor.” Korra defended hatefully. “In fact what’s to stop me from taking you out right now?!”

“How about the fact that I know a back way into the temple?” Meriona responded quickly.

“What is your game Meriona?” Mako accused, threateningly stepping close to her. “Whose side are you really on?”

Meriona sighed. “I really am on your side. I’ve been a mole in the Equalists for the past two years, before I even met you guys. When you got to town I was instructed with gaining your trust. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but I swear no aspect of our friendship was a lie. Not for me.” Meriona pled.

“How can we trust you?” Mako demanded. “How do we know that anything you say isn’t another lie?!”

“Trust your instinct. I told Beifong about the training camps and Hiroshi’s factory. The first time I met you I told you where to save Bolin! I helped saved Korra from Amon, twice! I warned the United Forces about Amon’s ambush.” Meriona listed but soon recognised this wasn’t the answer they were looking for. “Look, I know I betrayed your friendship, I know I’m not who you thought I was, so there may be no way to make you trust me, but if we are going to beat Amon we need to work together! Trust that I want him beaten, that I want my family safe!”

“So your anger towards your dad … ?” Korra asked.

“The issues I have with my dad are real but please believe that I’m not so much of an idiot that I truly believe they are caused by my lack of bending. Our problems go much deeper than that.”

They all stood in silence as Korra and Mako evaluated the situation. Korra’s brain was telling her that Meriona couldn’t be trusted, that they had been in this exact situation before and she just turned around and lied to them again. But her heart and gut were saying something different. Looking back on every instance, Korra recognised there were too many coincidences that had occurred, too many close calls where they had narrowly escaped Amon. She could see how Meriona could have been a mole, but that didn’t make her trustworthy.

“Well I don’t trust you.” Korra stated. “But I guess if you wanted to rat us out than you would have already, so I’ll give you a chance to prove you loyalty. Where is this other way to the temple?”

Meriona pointed to a section of wall on the outskirts of the temple and Korra took off in that direction. Before Meriona could follow, she felt a tight grip on her arm.

“If you are lying to us, if you do anything to betray us or put her in danger, I won’t hesitate to take you out.” Mako whispered dangerously.

As Meriona nodded her head timidly, Mako harshly released her arm. He watched her with every step she took away from him as she followed after Korra. He wanted to believe that she was telling the truth, that she could be trusted but he couldn’t put aside his doubt. Her explanations made sense and added up but until she truly proved herself, there was no way for him to believe her completely.

Meriona followed after Korra sadly, understanding her friends’ harsh reactions to her. She couldn’t expect them to trust her, she had betrayed them. But hopefully in time, she could prove her true alliances and slowly rebuild the faith she had broken.

******************************************************************************************

Mako, Korra and Meriona made their way to the arena as fast as they could. After finding their way into the temple they had decided they were going to hide in the attic where they found Tarrlok hidden away in a cell. Meriona had been completely unaware that he was hidden there and shortly found out why. Tarrlok was Amon’s brother, raised together in the North Pole and taught bloodbending by their father Yakone. That’s why Amon had hidden him away, he couldn’t have anyone know he was a bender. Because that was how he did it, how he took people’s bending away, with his water bending abilities. That was why his method was so different to Aang’s. Amon was bending blood not energy. Maybe that meant there was a way to undo what he had done. Maybe a powerful waterbender who knew how to bloodbend could undo it. Maybe Katara could.

But there was no time to dwell on that, they had to get to the rally quickly. If they were able to expose Amon as bender in front of all his supporters they could take away his true power and undermine his whole revolution. Finally they could end this war. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All reviews welcome, even if they are to tell me off for taking so long :)


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